Class
Book-
Cojpght}}^_
COIOffJIGllT DEPOSXK
IVOMEN OF COLON ML AND
REVOLUTIONARY TIMES ^
'Wo/ for your own behoof alone, hut for your country s^
wereyour children reared'* Cicero.
WOMEN OF COLONIAL AND
REyOLU'JIONARY TIMES ^^
ELIZA PINCKNEY
BY HARRIOTT HORRY RAyENEL
WITH FACSIMILE
REPRODUCTION
^osf^
^^
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK MDCCCXCVI
I (s^
Copyright^ rSgO, by
Charles Scribner's Sons
1
^7
Entljrrsttn P«sb:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.
TO THE MEMORY OF
MY FATHER'S SISTER
MISS ELIZA LUCAS RUTLEDGE
BY WHOSE COURAGE AND PIETY
THESE LETTERS
WERE SA VED FROM THE FLAMES
THIS BOOK IS
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
PREFACE
In preparing this life of Mrs. PincTcney^ I
have^ as ivill he seen, kept as closely as possible
to the very numerous letters which she has left
us, and to a few others written by members of
her family or friends.
The task of selecting such of these, or such
portions of these, as might best stiit the purpose
proposed, — namely, the illustration of the social
and domestic life of the time and place, — has
been my chief duty. I have endeavored to show,
as well as might be, the way of thought, the occu-
pations, manners, and customs of the women of
Carolina in the last century.
When compelled to seek other sources of infor-
mation, in order to complete the picture, I have
■ consulted the most nearly contemporaneous au-
thorities accessible, preferring to show the opiyi-
ions and beliefs of the people of the day rather
than to seek the judgment of posterity. For this
end the authors consulted have been our native
historians, Ramsay, Moultrie, Drayton, etc., all
of whom were, for the Revolutionary j^eriod, a
part of the story ivhich they tell.
PREFACE
For the accoimt of the earliest events men-
tioned^ I must acknowledge my obligation to the
very interesting papers published by the Hon.
W. A. Courtenay, in many successive Year
Books of the City of Charleston.
I have been careful to distinguish between
those statements for which there is written author-
ity and those which rest on tradition only. WJien
the Family Legend is quoted, a manuscript
account of some events in the Pinckney family,
hy Miss Maria Henrietta, eldest daughter of
General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, born in
1774, is referred to. Too diffuse and intimate
for publication, it yet gives many details such as
could have been supplied by no one else.
When ''tradition'' is giveyi, I mean the stories
and accoimts of Mrs. Pinckney' s grayidchildren ;
the old people to whose conversation I listened in
childhood and youth, drinking in their endless
tales of the old time and of the part which their
relations and friends had borne in it.
For these traditions I have been careful not to
trust my own memory alone, and have written
only such things as are corroborated by the
recollections of the other survivi^ig members of the
same generation.
HARRIOTT HORRY [RUTLEDGE] RAVENEL.
Charleston, February, 1896.
CONTENTS
PAGE
I— FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA, 1737-
1742
Cause of the Removal from Antigua to Carolina —
Miss Lucas's Early Letters— Her Interest in Agri-
culture— The Commercial Situation at this Time . . i
II— MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 1741-
n43
Miss Lucas's Description of Life in Charleston and its
Neighborhood — Social Affairs — A Famous Ecclesias-
tical Trial — The Daily Business of the Plantations . . 17
III— A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD,
174^-1744
Miss Lucas's Pleasure in Rural Pursuits — Her Neigh-
bors and their Ancestry — Drayton Hall — Social Gaye-
ties in Country Houses— A Picture of an Old-time
Dinner and Dance — Description of Crowfield ... 37
IV— MARRIAGE, 1742-1744
English Correspondence— War with the Spaniards —
Oglethorpe's Expedition and its Result — Miss Lucas's
Concern for her Brother George — Her Marriage to
Charles Pinckney 58
ix
CONTENTS
y—THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
The First Emigrant of the Name — Charles Town in
the Seventeenth Century — The Growth and Influence
of the Family —Exposure of the Colony to French and
Spanish Attacks — The Pirates 71
n— EARLY MARRIED LIFE, 1742-1747
Mrs. Pinckney's Affection and Esteem for her Hus-
band — His Traits of Character — She Resents an
Attack upon him — Letters to and from Governor Lucas
— Belmont — Experiments in the Cultivation of Indigo 88
yil— MOTHERHOOD, 1745-174S "^
Birth of a Son — Mansion House, a Typical Colonial
Town House — Its Interior Arrangement and its Fur-
niture— Mrs. Pinckney's "Resolutions;" An Elabo-
rate Code of Morals — Commercial and Industrial
Affairs— Silk, Flax, and Hemp — Death of Governor
Lucas »o8
yill—yiSIT TO ENGLAND. 175^-1758
Mr. Pinckney appointed Chief Justice of the Colony —
Made Commissioner of the Colony in London — The
Hurricane of 1752 — The Voyage to England — Small-
pox — The Pinckneys Received by the Princess of
Wales — A Lively Account of the Event — Social
Life in England — Return to America 134
IX— DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCK-
NEY, 17^8-17^9
Effect upon Mrs. Pinckney — Her Letters to her Chil-
dren and Intimate Friends— Her English Correspond-
ence — Mr. Pinckney's Will. — His Character. 167
X—THE INDIAN WARS. 1759-J76J
Mrs. Pinckney's Partial Recovery from her Grief —
Her Return to P.elmont and to Plantation Life — The
Daily Routine of the Mistress — War with the Chero-
kees — Peace at Last 187
X
CONTENTS
PACK
XI— LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS,
iy6o-iy62
Mrs. Pinckney's Letters to her Sons at School in Eng-
land— A Letter from Miss King — Death of King ^
George IL — Loyalty of the American Colonies— High
Quality of Mrs. Pinckney's English Friendships ... 207
XII— DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS.
iy62-iy6g
Society in Charles Town — Interest in Literature —
The "Dancing Assembly "— Miss Pinckney enters
Society— Her Portrait — Her Girlish Letters — Her
Marriage to Mr. Horry 226
XIII— BEGINNING OF THE RESOLUTION.
1773-^780
Sentiment in Carolina — Close Relations with Eng-
land — Marriage of Mrs. Pinckney's Eldest Son — First
Visible Signs of Resistance — Travelling in Olden
Days — Progress of Hostilities — Capitulation of Charles
Town 248
XIl^—END OF THE RESOLUTION. 1781--
1782
Experiences of Colonel Pinckney— Charles Town dur-
ing its Occupation by the British — Traditions of Marion
and Tarleton — Sufferings of the Country People —
Major Pinckney Wounded — Mrs. Motte's Patriotism
— Evacuation of Charles Town 281
Xy~OLD AGE AND DEATH 1783-1793
Mrs. Pinckney's Devotion to her Grandchildren — She
Receives General Washington in 1791 — Her Last Let-
ter.— Her Departure for Philadelphia — Her Death —
Her Descendants — The Lesson of her Life .... 306
Xi
(n^ ftJt^djr^ k ffi4j mx^M tyw^ n^u) ^m
cp^f\/V' h^-d
^o^ cj£^ilu
im^
4'
MRS. PINCKNEY,
SENT FROM WAPPOO BY MESSENGER TO
•' ' ' f p
^w^ H^^ my cyfvM^ ""t^^i • /'^ Wi^idi) ifi t^/^
' /^ J'fhh'^J (^ ft^liO nrfiO kurVi. Ht^CX^ ^Ot>
i4^ "^ /fid /^ ip^jiii^ U Mi^j% rn^it cjpvc^
HER HUSBAND
RLES TOWN IN JUNE OR JULY, 1741
ELIZA PINCKNEY
FIRST YEAKS IN CAROLINA
1737-1742
In the year 1737 or 1738 Lieutenant-Colonel
George Lucas, an officer of the English army,
stationed at the West Indian island of Antigua,
came to the Province of South Carolina with
his wife and daughters. They came in search
of a climate which might suit the very delicate
health of Mrs. Lucas, and they liked Carolina
so well, that, with a view of remaining there,
Colonel Lucas bought land and settled plan-
tations.
There was at the time a cessation of hostili-
ties in the long war between England and Spain,
and had the expected peace been concluded
this plan might have been carried out. But
negotiations were broken off, and Colonel
Lucas was obliged to part with his family and
hurry back to Antigua ; of which place he was
soon after made Royal Governor. Mrs. Lucas
1 1
ELIZA PINCKNEY
being in bad health, her husband left their eld-
est daughter Eliza in charge of all his affairs
in Carolina, and it is her life which we shall
attempt to picture.
It is offered as that of a woman of character
and capacity, who in a private station, by her
enterprise and perseverance, conferred a great
benefit upon her adopted home ; and as that of
a mother, who, left at an early age to fight
the battle of life single handed, trained her
sons from infancy to know and to do their
duty to their God and their country. She
might be presented as a typical southern ma-
tron, a representative of her class ; but to the
general reader her life is, perhaps, most in-
teresting when viewed as an instance of that
force of environment which did so much for
the making of America. We hardly recognize
now, how much the country moulded the people,
and formed, not perhaps character (for charac-
ter comes of race and faith, and is, at its "best,
superior to circumstance), but feeling and opin-
ion,— the opinion which makes action. It is
unfortunate that we have absolutely no infor-
mation about her ancestry beyond that already
furnished. The destruction by the British of
her plantation home, and a fire which occurred
in 179(3, in which her house in what was then
called Charles Town was destroyed, consumed
2
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
all the papers which might have thrown inter-
esting light upon the families, in their English
homes, of the mother and father of Miss Lucas.
This lady, afterwards the proud mother of
two " rebel " sons, was in her youth the most
enthusiastically loyal of subjects, and Avas
brought up so to be ; for her father was, to use
Browning's phrase, '' the King's," and she had
been educated in England, and in every way as
an English girl. She, with her two brothers,
had been sent " home," as East Indian children
are now, to the care of a friend of the family
by whom they were brought up. This lady,
Mrs. Boddicott, lived in London, but in what
part of it we do not know, nor do we know
how many years Miss Lucas remained there,
but judging from the letters it was for a long
period.
From the time of her coming to Carolina her
letters show her life. These letters, careful
compositions many of them, were copied out
into a long parchment-covered book, which
has survived the perils of two wars and of
fire, having been literally "plucked as a brand
from the burning" by one pious descendant.
They were copied, so that if "our Feb?: fleet" or
" our Oct", vessels " fell into the hands of the
ever present enemy, a duplicate might be sent.
If time failed to copy in full, a coi)ions mcmo-
3
ELIZA PINCKNEY
randum was made. " Wrote my papa about,"
etc., etc. This is comprehensible enough, but
why all the letters and notes addressed to
friends in Charles Town, only seventeen miles
off, should also have been carefully entered,
passes the understanding of these busy, impa-
tient days. They do not appear to have been
rough drafts, but copies, carefully made of the
originals. AVe can only wonder and be thankful.
In 1739, then, we find Miss Eliza Lucas, then
sixteen years old, established in Carolina,
with plenty of business to fill her time, but
lamenting " my papa's return to Antigua," and
quite unable to keep from fretting over the
incessant expeditions on which his Majesty's
forces were engaged. The place at which
the Lucas family lived was in St. Andrew's
parish on the west side of the Ashley River ;
but their plantation was not upon the river
itself, but upon the Wappoo, a salt creek con-
necting the Ashley with the Stono, and only
separated from the ocean by the long, sandy
islands, James and Johns, which were to gain
notoriety in far distant days.
It was at the junction of this creek with the
Ashley, that the first governor, Sayle, had
pitched his camp in 1670, calling the place
" Albemarle Point." It is marked as liis head-
quarters, upon an old plat in the Shaftesbury
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
Papers, but the first town (Old Town) was
some miles higher up the river. The Lucas
place was nearer to the Stono. Miss Lucas,
writing to Mrs. Boddicott, says : —
Dear Madam, — I flatter myself it will be a
satisfaction to you to hear I like this part of the
world as my lott has fallen here, which I really
do. I prefer England to it 'tis true, but think
Carolina greatly preferable to the West Indies, and
was my Papa here I should be very happy. We
have a very good acquaintance from whom we have
received much friendship and Civility. Charles
Town the principal one in this province is a polite
agreeable place, the people live very Gentile and
very much in the English taste. The Country is
in general fertile and abounds with Yenson and
wild fowl. The Venson is much higher flavoured
than in England but 'tis seldom fatt.
My Papa and Mama's great indulgence to mee
leaves it to mee to chuse our place of residence
either in town or country, but I think it more
prudent as well as most agreeable to my Mama
and selfe to be in the Country during my father's
absence. Wee are 17 mile by land, and 6 by water
from Charles Town where wee have about 6 agree-
able families around us with whom wee live in
great harmony. I have a little library well fur-
nished (for my Papa has left mee most of his books)
in w*^.'? I spend part of my time. My Musick and
the Garden w'^- I am very fond of take up the rest
5
ELIZA PINCKNEY
that is not imployed in business, of w*^- my father
has left mee a pretty good share, and indeed 'twas
unavoidable, as my Mama's bad state of health
prevents her going thro' any fatigue.
I have the business of o plantations to transact,
w'^'' requires much writing and more business and
fatigue of other sorts than you can imagine, but least
you should imagine it too burthensom to a girl
at my early time of life, give mee leave to assure
you I think myself happy that I can be useful to
so good a father. By rising very early I find I can
go through with much business, but least you
should think I shall be quite moaped with this
w^ay of life, I am to inform you there is two
worthy Ladies in C-? Town, Mrs Pinckney and
Mrs Oleland who are partial enough to mee to wish
to have mee with them, and insist upon my making
their houses my home wlien in Town, and press
mee to relax a little much oftener than 'tis in my
power to accept of their obliging intreaties, but I
am sometimes with one or the other for three
weeks or a monthe at a time, and then enjoy all
the pleasures C- Town affords. But nothing gives
mee more than subscribing myself
Dr. Madam
Yf. most affectionet and
Pray remember me in most obliged hum^-^ Ser -*
the best manner to my Eliza. Lucas
worthy friend M F. Boddicott.
To my good friend Mrs Boddicott
May ye 2°^^. [probably 1740]
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
Her planting was no holiday business. The
intelligent, unaifectcd love of agriculture and
experiment which marked her through life had
already appeared, and she was busy in finding
out what would best suit the soil and climate of
the new Colony (it had hardly yet exceeded
the life of man) in which she found herself.
In July of 1739 occur the following memo-
randa, — the first that we have, but she men-
tions on the next page that she has just finished
" a coppy book of letters to my Papa," so that
when her first planting was made we do not
exactly know.
'^I wrote my father a very long letter on his
plantation affairs ... on the pains I had taken
to bring the Indigo, Ginger, Cotton, Lucern, and
Cassada to perfection, and had greater hopes from
the Indigo — if I could have the seed earlier the
next year from the East Indies, — than any of ye
rest of y.? things I had tryd, . . . also concern-
ing pitch and tarr and lime and other i)lantation
affairs.''
The object of these experiments was to find
some crops which miglit be profitably raised on
the high land in Carolina, and furnish a staple
for export. At that time, rice, grown only where
inland swamps could be conveniently watered
from an embanked " reserve," was the sole agri-
7
ELIZA PINCKNEY
cultural commodity. The other exports were
lumber, skins, and naval stores. It was a singu-
lar question to engage the attention of a girl
of sixteen, and probably, at first, when trying
her plots of indigo, ginger, etc., she did not
dream of the change which she would effect in
the agriculture of her Province.
She kept her object steadily in view, however,
its importance growing upon her as she pro-
ceeded, and the hopes, disappointments, and
mistakes, incident to every new enterprise, now
run through the letters of years. By 1742 she
was so well satisfied that indigo could be profit-
ably grown, that Governor Lucas sent her an
overseer, from the West Indies, to superintend
the difficult processes of harvest and prepara-
tion for market. His daughter writes : —
HoN^ Sir. — Never were letters more welcome
than yours of feb>: 19"} & 20"}, and March ye 10!^
and 23'".^, which came almost together, it was near 6
months since we had the pleasure of a line from
you; our fears increased apace, and we dreaded
some fatal accident befallen; but learning of yf. re-
covery from a dangerous Fitt of Illness has, more
than equal 'd, great as it was, our former anxiety.
ISTor shall we ever think ourselves sufficiently
thankful to Almighty God, for the continuance of
so great a blessing. I simpathize most sincerely
with ye Inhabitance of Antigua in so great a
8
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
calamity as the scarcity of provisions, and the
want of ye Necessary s of life to ye poorer sort.
We shall send all we can get of provisions, I wrote
this day to Starrat for a bar! of butter.
The Cotton, Guiney corn and most of the Ginger
planted here was cutt off by a frost.
I wrote you in former letter we had a fine crop
of Indigo Seed upon the ground and since informed
you the frost took it before it was dry. I picked
out the best of it and had it planted but there is
not more than a hundred bushes of it come up,
w''^ proves the more unlucky as you have sent a
man to make it. I make no doubt Indigo w^ill
prove a very valueable commodity in time, if we
could have the seed from the east Indies time enough
to plant the latter end of March, that the seed
might be dry enough to gather before our frost. I
am sorry we lost this season we can do nothing
towards it now but make the works ready for next
year. The Lucern is yet but dwindling, but M-
Hunt tells mee 'tis always so here the first year.
The death of my Grandmama was as you imag-
ine very shocking and grievous to my Mama, but I
hope the consideration of the miserys that attend
so advanced an age will help time to wear it off.
I am very much obliged to you for the present you
were so good to send me of the fifty pound bill
of Exchange w^.^ I duely received. AVe hear Car-
thagene is taken. M^ Wallis is dead. Captain
Norberry was lately killed in a duel by Cap^
Dobinure, whose life is dispaired of by the wounds
ELIZA PINCKNEY
he received, he is much blamed for quarreling with
such a brawling man as Norberry who was disre-
garded by every body. Norberrj^ has left a wife
and 3 or 4 children in very bad circumstances to
lament his rashness. Mama tenders you her affec-
tions and polly joyns in duty with
My Dear Papa
Your ob- and ever Devoted Daughter
E Lucas
To supply the demand for provisions in Anti-
gua, she immediately wrote to the overseers at
the different plantations : —
^'Nov!-.. 1741 Wrote to Mr Murry to send
down a boat load of white oaV staves, bacon and
salted beef for the West Indias. Sent up at the
same time salt, salt peter and brown sugar for the
bacon, and a couple of bottles of wine for Mrs
Murry, and desire he will send down all ye butter
and hog's lard."
And soon after : —
" Sent my father his kettledrums, informed him
of Mr Smith's selling yf rumm he sent us, and
giving awa}^ y^ preserved sorrel, tho he assurd us
'twas by mistake put on board a vessel going to
Barbadoes and carried there. Sad wretch ! Pay^
the compt^ of all his friends who treat us wdth great
kindness and civility. Sent for West India Con-
cumber seed.
" Wrote by the return of the vessel, 2 bar^^ Rice,
10
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
do Corn, 3 do pease, and pickled pork, 2 keggs
Oysters, one, of Eggs by way of Experiment putt up
in salt. In case they answer my scheme is to sup-
ply my father's refining house iu Antigua with
Eggs from Carolina."
This very practical and managing young
lady is said to have been remarkably gentle
and feminine in manner. By her father's de-
sire she spent but little time at her needle, then
the fashionable employment for ladies. Colonel
Lucas had a strong prejudice against the elab-
orate embroideries and lace work which we
still admire, declaring ungallantly that he
"never saw ladies talking over their work
without suspecting that they were hatching
mischief"! His daughter obediently chose
other occupations, yet she was girlish enough
in many ways ; especially when expressing
her terrors on her father's account. She tries
to be '' patriotick," but cannot conceal her
fears, as when she writes to a friend, Miss
Bartlett, in Charles Town : —
^^I hear the Rye man of Warr is arrived, do
they say whether the War is likely to continue or
not, I was going to say I wish all the men were as
great cowards as m3^self, it would make them more
peaceably inclined. Now could I morralize for
Iialf an hour on the wickedness and folly of "Warr
and Bloodshed but my letter is of a convenient
length. . . .'' 11
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Soon she became uneasy about her brother
as well as her father. The t\yo boys were in
England with Mrs. Boddicott, and she wrote to
them constantly. The younger, "Tommy,"
was in bad health, the elder, George, looking
forward to entering the army. Their sister
was much concerned about them, and there
are frequent notes, —
<^May 2^. 1741 AVrote to my brother now 16
years old, desireing him to give us an ace!, of pub-
lick News, anything that passes worth Notice, and
informed of the amiable character we lately rec'' of
him from good Mrs Boddicott "
'^Ocf 22''"'^ Wrote to my brother George, desire-
ing him to corrispond with mee in frencli, '^ etc etc
and many messages and notes to the ill boy.
George at last received his commission, and
went to Antigua. Then the anxious sister writes
to him in concern and alarm about the expedi-
tions on which he is liable to be sent. These
" expeditions " were a part of tlic long naval war
between England and Spain, to which it seemed
there would be no end. " There is always war
with the Spaniard beyond the Line," says the
bold Magnus Troil, in The Pirate, and on this
side of the Line the same thing might have
been said. Beginning in tlic previous century
in the depredations of those extraordinary
12
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
rovers, the buccaneers, and continued by the
scarcely less dreaded guarda-costas, the sea
police established by Spain to control the buc-
caneers, but who made themselves extremely
troublesome to the English traders also, —tit
had, now that the buccaneers and guarda-
costas were things of tlie past, resolved itself
into a struggle for commercial supremacy be-
tween England and Spain, among the West
India Islands, and the shores of South America.
The trade was of great importance, and neither
country could afford to lose it; but to the
North American colonies the war was a con-
stant trouble, interfering with their commerce
and prosperity in every way.
Since the resumption of hostilities in 1739,
there had been an endless series of expeditions,
naval fights, etc. ; but with the exception of
the capture of Porto-Bello by Admiral Yernon,
which had raised British enthusiasm to an
extraordinary point, the operations were gen-
erally ill-concerted and ineffectual. As Colonel
Lucas was engaged in several of these affairs,
the allusions to them are frequent.
174.0
To my Father:— '^"^
I am at a loss where to write to my Dear and
Honoured Father, but am determined not to omit
the pleasing duty, while I am able to perform it.
13
ELIZA PINCKNEY
I shall therefore send this to my brother to for-
ward it to yon, possibly the expedition may be
over, and you return'^^ in safety. Happy indeed
shall I be when this grateful news reaches us . . .
Tlie crop at Garden Hill turned out ill, but a
hundred and sixty bar!? [of rice] and at Wappoo
only forty-three, the price is so low as thirty
shillings pi", hundred, we have sent very little to
town yet, for that reason. People difer very much
in sentiment about the number of ships we are
still to have. We have not heard from England
for more than two months, what can keep the ship-
ping? We conjecture 'tis an imbargo. In my
letter of Feb?: 3':'^ I desired to know if you aproved
of setting a plantation to the North near Major
Pawly. Please let me know in your next if it has
your approbation and it shall be done in the Fall.
We expect a vizit from the Spainiards this sum-
mer. Mr Oglethorpe harasses them much at their
forts at S* Augustine. He has lately killed some
and took two prisoners.
The foregoing letter was evidently written
while Governor Lucas was absent at Lagnayra.
By "the shipping," his daughter means the
fleet of merchant vessels wdiich under convoy
carried the rice to England. The familiar use,
by the way, of the so-called Americanism,
" Fall," may be noticed ; it flows too trippingly
from her pen to have been a lately learned
14
FIRST YEARS IN CAROLINA
expression. The attack on Laguayra failed,
and then the affectionate daughter had both
terror and mortification to undergo : " SeptT 15*1'
1743, wrote to my father a very long letter
informing him I had received his, relating the
whole of that unfortunate and ill-concerted
expedition at Laguira." And again: " acknowl-
edged the receipt of his letter at Port Cavalla,
with the papers of all the transactions there
and at Laguira enclosed."
She was evidently much distressed and sought
to console herself as best she might with paral-
lels from history. Her friends Mr. and Mrs.
Pinckney, scolded her — in all kindness —
for her rebellious grief, and she wrote the
following letter : —
To 3Irs Pinckney.
DF Madam, — If you are not yet provided I
have heard of a horse I believe will suit you at
£140 [presumably in currency], and shall be glad
of yr commands if I can be anj^ways serviceable
therein, the owners are no further from me than
James Island.
Please to make my Complf. to Col. Pinckney, the
book he lent mee I now return with thanks. I
mett with a paragraph in it w*^.^ gave me a good
deal of pleasure because 'tis exactly similar to my
papa's Case at Cavalla, 'tis in a letter from Prince
Eugene to an Eminent Minister in vindication of
15
ELIZA PINCKNEY
my Lord Albermarrs conduct at tlie battle of Denain,
the words w*^.^ I raean are these ^^Biit when they —
(the soldiers) — run as soon as they have given
one fire and cannot be rallied, no Gen., in the
world can help it "
This declaration from so great a GenK as Prince
Eugene must have great weight had it been read
by a less partial eye than that of a daughter. I
have had too many Instances of your friendship to
doubt your pardon for this impertinence. . .
Dr. Madam
y affect and obed?. Serv.*
E. Lucas.
IB
II
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
1741-1743
The following letters show so much of the
life and character of the writer that they are
given with only the necessary explanations.
The first was written to her brother George
before he left England : —
I am now set down my Dear Brother to obey your
commands and give you a short discription of the
part of the world I now inhabit. So. Carolina
then, is a large and Extensive Country near the
Sea. Most of the settled parts of it is upon a flatt —
the soil near Charles Town Sandy, but fartlier dis-
tant clay and swamp land. It abounds with fine
navigable rivers, and great quantities of fine tim-
ber. The country at great distance, that is to say
about a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles from
C^- Town very hilly. The soil in general very
fertile, and there is very few European or American
fruits or grain but what grow here. The Country
abounds with wild fowl. Venison and fish, Beef,
veal and mutton, are here in much greater perfec-
tion tlian in the Islands, the' not equal to that in
2 17
ELIZA PINCKNEY
England — but their pork exceeds any I ever
tasted anywhere. The Turkeys extreamly fine,
especially the wild, and indeed all their poultry is
exceeding good, and peaches, Nectrins, and mellons
of all sorts extreamly fine and in profusion, and
their Oranges exceed any T ever tasted in the West
Indies or from Spain or Portugal.
The people in geii^ hospitable and honest, and
the better sort add to these a polite gentile behav-
iour. The poorer sort are the most indolent people
in the world or they could never be wretched in so
plentiful a country as this. The winters here are
very fine and pleasant, but 4 months in the year is
extreamly disagreeable, excessive liott, much thun-
der and lightening and muskatoes and sand flies in
abundance.
C^ Town the Metropolis is a neat pretty place.
The inhabitants polite and live in a very gentile
manner. The streets and houses regularly built —
the ladies and gentlemen gay in their dress, upon
the whole you will find as many agreeable people of
both sexes for the size of the place as almost any
where. St Phillips church in C""- Town is a very
elegant one, and much frequented. There are
several more places of publick worship in this
town, and the generallity of people of a religious
turn of mind —
I began in haste and have observed no method or
I should have told you before I came to summer,
that we have a most charming spring in this
country, es]3ecially for those who travel through
18
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
the country, for the scent of the young niirtlc and
the yellow Jesaniin with wf^ the woods abound, is
delightful.
The staple comodity here is rice, and the only
thing they export to Euroj^e — beef, pork and lum-
ber, they send to the west Indias.
Pray inform me how my good friend M" Boddi-
cott, my cousen Bartholomew and all my old
acquaintance doe. My Mama and Bolly joyn in
Love to you with
My dear brother
Yours most affectionately
E Lucas
The society was gay ; and even the war some-
times brought an added gayety in the presence
of some gallant sailors, as wdien the Jamaica
fleet came in with " I am told fifty officers."
The fleet danced and amused itself of course,
although one of its duties may have been to
avenge the act told in the following memo-
randum : —
^' Wrote to my Father an account of a large ship,
the ' Balticke Merchant, ' from hence, being taken
and carried into S- Sebastien. The Cap-, a Quaker,
would not fight, — poor Col- Braithwait undertook
to fight the ship, they had not powder enough — the
Spaniards boarded her, and upon inquiring and
being told Col^ B fought the ship, he went in to
the Cabbin where he found him comforting his wife
19
ELIZA PINCKNEY
who was greatly friglited, and shot him dead in
her sight — but as soon as he arrived at S- Sehas-
tien's the Gov- of that place hanged him. Ac-
knowledgd the Ee*^' of things sent by my father
to ns in sev^ vessels lately, Ac^ of M- Whitfield
and the Ecclesiastical Court here. Ac* of my
cousen Ea^^weathers going to Boston to endeavour
to recover her fortune. Old M- Deveaux, very kind
in Instructing me in j-ilanting affairs — Shall En-
deavour to get some Curiositys for the Duke of
Marlborough.'^
The fleet was in time for the birthnight ball.
Nov?: 11 1742
To my Father.
HoxD Sir, — Since my last the fleet is returnct
to Jamaica; their orders were such tliat if the
Spainards were gone and we under no apprehen-
sions of their returning, to return to Jamaica with
the whole detachment. Tlie}^ were very desireous
to stay longer, and the Carolinians as desireous to
have them stay. They were very well received
here, and took great pleasure in acknowledging it
upon all occations. The}^ are quite enamourd with
Carolina, nor is it to be wonderd at after coming
from Jamaica a place of w*^-^ they give a most horri-
ble character. The character they give of the
women there must I think be exaggerated, and
therefore I wont enlarge on that head.
The Gov- gave the Gent° a yqyj gentile enter-
tainment at noon, and a ball at night for the
20
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
ladies on the Kings birthnight, at w*^^ was a
Crowded Audience of Gent" and ladies. I danced
a minuet with y*" old acquaintance Cap* Brodrick
who was extreanilj^ glad to see one so nearly re-
lated to his old friend. I promissd to pay his
comp'- to 3^ou, and asure you how extreamly glad
he would be to see you. A M^ Small (a very talk-
ative man), desires his best respects, and says
many obliging things of you, for w*^-' I think my-
self obliged to him, and therefore punishd myself
to hear a great deal of flashy nonsense from him
for an hour together
I am Dear Sir
Your most obed and ever Dutiful Daughter
E Lucas
Tlie ecclesiastical trial referred to in the
foregoing memorandani was a curious incident
in the religious life of the time. For many
years the different denominations in Charles
Town had lived together in peace and amity.
Some early attempts at oppression on the part
of the Established Church had been put down
very decidedly by the Lords Proprietors, and
although the '' church " had privileges and
protection, the '' dissenters " had equal political
rights, and, both keeping within their own
lines, were kind and friendly.
But then came the Rev. George Whitfield,
an ordained minister of the Church of England,
2]
ELIZA PINCKNEY
but, with the Wcslcys, a foiiiicler of Methodism.
He had been invited to come to Georgia by
General Oglethorpe, especially to evangelize
the Indians and the negroes. His fervent
preaching had excited much enthusiasm, and
was supposed to do much good. Then he came
to Carolina. Whitfield had undoubtedly a ge-
nius for preaching, and an earnest, fiery faith.
If there was no church he would preach in a
" meeting house " ; or if the church was too
small he would mount a stump or a cart and
preach in the open air. Hundreds flocked to
hear him and declared themselves " converted."
All this however was repugnant to every
principle of the Rev. Commissary Garden.
Commissary Garden was the gentleman sent
out by the Bishop of London to have ecclesias-
tical authority and jurisdiction " within the
provinces of North and Soutli Carolina, Georgia,
and New Providence." He was charged to
" watch not only over the morals of the clergy,
but to enforce their observance of the rules
and forms prescribed by the Church."
These rules Whitfield was openly breaking.
When the people had no prayer-books, and
could not read, he used extemporaneous prayers
that went to tlieir hearts, and accepted tears
and groans in lieu of the responses set down
in the book. lie preferred a large congre-
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
gation by tlio wayside to a small one in a
church, even with a cross over the door and
the royal arms above the pulpit.
One man was a formalist, the other an en-
thusiast. Naturally they clashed, and Whit-
field was summoned to appear before an
" Ecclesiastical Court." He was allowed an
advocate, his cause being pleaded by Andrew
Kutledge (the first of the name to come to
Carolina) ; the commissary's prosecutor was
Richard Greene. Of course the case was pre-
judged. There could be no denial of the fact
that the acts were uncanonical, and Whitfield
still called himself a Churchman.
This clinging to the name was perhaps his
mistake. The only thing to be done was to
question the authority of Garden's court. Tlie
authority was sustained, and, after the usual
appeals, Whitfield was "for his excesses and
faults . . . suspended from his office . . .
denounced, declared and published openly and
publicly in the face of the church."
The sentence only aided the growth of Metho-
dism. Good Dr. Garden, doing his duty ac-
cording to his lights, little thought that he
was widening the breach already begun.
The affair, taking place in the small com-
munity of Charles Town, was of course of im-
mense interest and excitement there. Miss
23
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Lucas was a faithful, though not a narrow
Church woman, and a friend of the commissary,
whose large school for the negroes, where great
numhers of them were taught Christianity, ap-
pealed especially to her. Pier sympathy was
probably with him.
It is pleasant to know that these contentions
left so little bitterness behind them that some
years later the Surveyor, de Brahm, after enu-
merating nine different sects in the town of
twelve thousand inhabitants, said, " Yet are
[they] far from being incouraged, or even in-
clined to that disorder which is so common
among men of contrary religious sentiments
in other parts of the world ... of this city
and Province, whoose inhabitants was from
the beginning rcnound for concord, compleas-
ance, courteousncss and tenderness towards
each other, and more so towards foreigners,
without regard or rcs[)ect of nature and
religion."
A pleasing ending of the whole matter !
It is hard at this late day to realize the
inconveniences of daily life then caused by
the distance from and the slow communication
with the centres of civilization. The old phrase
" taking Time by the forelock " acquires great
force, as we find that if Miss Lucas has the
lieadache, — by description neuralgia, — she
24
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
has to write an account of her symptoms to
Mrs. Uoddicott in November, and sends a most
grateful letter to her, and to " good D- Mead,"
because by their promptness " the meddicines
will arrive by May, and 'tis alhvays worse in
hott weather." Think of waiting six months
for a dose of medicine !
Everything manufactured was imported, from
a " four-wheel post chaise " to materials for
"japanning a tea-caddy," tlie fashionable fad
of the day. The great importance attached
to the most" triffling" possessions of this kind,
compared with the abundant comfort in other
respects, is shown in mony odd little ways.
In a contemporaneous letter from another Co-
lonial lady, to her little son at school in Charles
Town, — the little son who was, years after-
wards, to be the husband of Mrs. Pinckney's
daughter, — she says, — •
'^I send you by the boat [their own schooner
carrying rice to market] a barrel of hams, w':^ please
present to y- worthy master, and a baskett of pairs
for y'self and yl schoolfellows, and praie my Dr
Dan!, return the baskett, ^tis of Englisli make, &
I cannot get another in y?. colony.''
In the first letter from Miss Lucas given in
this vuhune, she mentions two kind friends,
Mrs. Cleland and ^Irs. Pinckney, who always
25
ELIZii PINCKNEY
welcomed her to their houses. With the latter
she became very intimate. She was the wife
of Colonel Charles Pinckney, a planter and
lawyer in high practice. She had no children,
and soon grew very fond of the young ghd,
and she and her niece, Miss Bartlett, then
living with her, vied with each other in their
attentions.
Colonel Finckney also became '• very partial '^
to her, and by lending books and discussing
worthy subjects, kept alive the taste for liter-
ature already formed. The Pinckneys lived,
either in Charles Town, or at their country
seat, Belmont, about five miles from the town,
on the Cooper River ; the correspondence with
Wappoo seems to have been frequent.
It is not easy to arrange these letters accord-
ing to date ; sometimes there is no date at all,
sometimes only the day of the week or of the
month is given. They were sent by messenger,
and none was needed. They have, however,
been arranged as nearly as possible in their
chronological order, and the following seems
to be one of the first : —
Janr 14t!}, 1741 2.
Dear Miss BapvTlett, — 'Tis wiili pleasure
I commence a Correspondance w*^.l' you promise to
continue tho' I fear I shall often want matter to
soport an Epistolary Interecourse in this solatary
2G
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
retirement — ; however you shall see my inclina-
tion, for rather than not scribble, you shall know
both my waking and sleeping dreams, as well as
how the spring comes on, when the trees bud, and
inanimate nature grows gay to chear the rational
mind with delight; and devout gratitude to the
great Author of all ; when my little darling, that
sweet harmonist the mocking bird, begins to sing.
You asked me a question when I was in town, I
could not then resolve you, viz% what letter began
the Tenor Cliff. 1 have since informed myself as
follows . . ,
Our best respects wait on Col! Pinckney and
lady, and believe me to be dear Miss Bartlett
Your most obed' Serv'
E Lucas
She had a passion for music, — a great re-
source in a country life ; and in one letter to
her father, wedged in between promises to send
all '' the preserved fruits as they come in sea-
son," thanks for " twenty pistols," — referring
not to firearms, but to the current gold coin of
Spain, — and arguments on the advantage of
" selling all the cows })elouging to the Wappoo
Estate," slie bogs " the favour to send to
Phigland for Cantatas, Weldcn's Anthems,
Knolly's rules for tuning."
Her country neighbors thought she over-
worked herself, and she writes : — ■
27
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Dear Miss Bautlett, — An old lady in our
Neighbourliood is often querreling Ayith me for
rising so early as 5 o'Clock in the morning, and
is in great pain for me least it should spoil my
marriage, for she says it will make me look old
long before I am so; in this however I believe she
is mistaking, for wdiat ever contributes to health
and pleasure of mind must also contribute to good
looks; but admiting Avhat she says, I reason with
her thus. If I should look older by this practise,
T really am so; for the longer time we are awake
the longer we live, sleep is so much the Emblem of
death, that I think it may be rather called breath-
ing than living, thus then I have the advantage of
the sleepers in point of long life, so I beg you will
not be frighted by such sort of apprehensions as
those suggested above and for fear of y': pretty face
give up yl" late pious resolution of early rising.
M}^ Mama joins with me in comp*.* to M- and M'-^
Pinckney. I send herewitJi CoU Tinckney's books,
and shall be much obliged to him for Virgil's works,
notwithstanding this same old Gentlewoman, (who
I think too has a great friendship for me) has a
great spite at my books, and had like to have thrown
a vol"' of my Plutarcks lives in to the fire the other
da}^, she is sadly afraid she says I shall read myself
mad and bogs most seriously I will never read
father Malbrouch, with this request I believe I
shall comply, for 'tis very probable I never may.
A letter I received j^esterday from my dear papa,
says their last news from England, w^as that the
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
Czarina of Moscovy was dethroned and princess
Elizabeth daugliter of Peter the great has got the
crown through the councils and interest of the
frcncli court
Iler friends were always anxious for her
company, but she was conscientious and did
not leave her duties too often.
To the Honour ahle C. Plnckney Esq.
Febr Q^^ 1741
Sir, — I received yesterday the favour of yoMic
advice as a phisician and want no arguments to con-
vince me I should be much better for both my good
friends company, a much pleasanter PrescrijDtion
3'ours is, I am sure, than Doc- Mead's w'^!^ I Iiave
just received. To follow my inclination at this
time, I must endeavour to forget I have a Sister to
instruct, and a parcel of little Negroes whom I
have undertaken to teach to read, and instead of
writing an answer bring it My self, and indeed
gratitude as well as inclination obliges me to wait
on M'"- Pinckney as soon as I can, but it will not
be in my power till a month or two hence. Mama
pays her comp^- to M-' Pinckney, and hopes she
will excuse her waiting on her at this time, but
will not fail to do it ver^^ soon.
I am a very Dunce, for I have not acquired y®
writing short hand yet with any degree of swift-
ness — but I am not always one for I give a very
good proof of the brightness of my Genius when I
29
ELIZA PINCKNEY
can distinguish well enough to subscribe my self
with great esteem
Sir
Your most obe*^ humble Serv-
Eliza Lucas.
Miss Bartlett insists on knowing why she is
so busy in the country, and she answers, —
^' Why my dear Miss Bartlett, will you so often
repeat y- desire to know how I trifle away my time
in our retirement in my father's absence; could it
afford you advantage or pleasure *I w^ould not liave
hesitated, but as you can expect neither from it I
would have been excused; however, to show j^ou my
readiness in obeying y*^ commands, here it is.
" In gen^ then I rise at five o'Clock in the morning,
read till seven — then take a walk in the garden or
fields, see that the Servants are at their respective
business, then to breakfast. The first liour after
breakfast is spent in musick, the next is constantly
employed in recolecting something I have learned,
least for want of practise it should be quite lost,
such as french and short hand. After that, I devote
the rest of the time till I dress for dinner, to our little
polly, and two black girls who I teach to read, and
if I have m}^ papa's approbation (my mama's I have
got)I intend for school mistress's for the rest of the
Negroe children. Another scheme you see, but to
proceed, the first hour after dinner, as the first
after breakfast, at musick, the rest of the afternoon
30
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
in needle work till candle liglifc, and from that
time to bed time read or write; 'tis the fashion
liere to carrj'- our work abroad with us so that hav-
ing company, without tliey are great strangers, is
no interruption to y- affair, but I have particular
matters for particular da3's w''^^ is an interruption to
mine. Mondays my musick Master is here. Tues-
day my friend M'- Cliardon (about 3 miles distant)
and I are constantly engaged to each other, she at
our house one Tuesday I at hers the next, and this
is one of y.1 happiest days I spend at Wappoo.
Thursday the whole day except what the necessary
affairs of the family take up, is spent in writing,
either on the business of the plantations or on
letters to my friends. Every other Friday, if no
compan}^, we go a vizeting, so that I go abroad
once a week and no oftener.
"'Now you may form some judgment of what time
I can have to work my laj^pets. I own I never go
to them with a quite easy conscience as I know my
father has an avertion to my emplo^nng my time
in that poreing work, but they are begun, and must
be finished. I hate to undertake an^'thing and not
go thro' with it, but by way of relaxation from the
other, I have begun a piece of work of a quicker
sort, w*^-^ requires neither eyes nor genius, at least
not very good ones, would you ever guess it to be
a shrimp nett ? for so it is.
" 0 ! I had like to forgot the last thing I have done
a great while. I have planted a large fi gg orchard,
with design to dry them, and export them. I have
31
ELIZA PINCKNEY
reckond my expence and the prophets to arise from
those iiggs, but was I to tell you how great an
Estate I am to make this way, and how 'tis to be
laid out, you would think me far gone in romance.
Y'' good Uncle I know has long thought I have a
fertile brain at schemeing, I only confirm him in
his oppinion; but I own I love the vegitable world
extreamly. I think it an innocent and useful
amusement, and pray tell him if he laughs much
at my projects, I never intend to have any hand in
a silver mine, and he will understand as well as
you, wdiat I mean ! Our best respects wait on him,
and M*"- Pinckney
^^ If my eyes dont descive me you in y"" last talk of
coming very soon by water, to see how my oaks
grow, is it really so, or only one of your unripe
schemes. While 'tis in y'" head put it speedily
into execution, and you will give great pleasure
to. . . . "
About this time (1741) occuiTcd a curious
incident of which she writes to her father : —
*^ Mem. March 11*1' 1741. Wrote a long letter
to my father about the Indigo and all other plan-
tation affairs, and that Mr H. B. had been very
much deluded by his owne fancys and imagind he
was assisted by the divine spirit to prophecy C-
Town and the Country as farr as^'Pon-pon bridge
[about twenty miles south of Charles Town]
should be destroyed by fire and sword, to be exe-
cuted by the Negroes before the first day of next
32
AMNNERS AND CUSTOMS
nionthe. He came to town twice, — 60 mile — ,
besides sending twice to acquaint tlie GovT. with it,
people in gen- were very uneasy, (tho' convincd
he was no prophet,) but they dreaded the consi-
qnences of such a thing being put in the head of
tlie slaves, and the advantage they might take of
us.
'< From thence he went on, (as it was natural he
should when he gave himself up to his own whims,)
from one step to another, till he came to working
miracles, and lived for several days in the woods
barefooted and alone, but with his pen and ink to
write down his prophecies, till at length he went
with a wand to divide the waters, and predicted he
should die that night. But upon linding both fail,
the water continue as it was, and himself a living
Instance of the flilicy of his own predictions, was
convinced he was not guided by the infallible
spirrit, but that of delusion, and sent a letter to the
Speaker upon it, w'=?> I now inclose.
''Shall send by Capt. Gregory if it can be got
ready in time for him, the turpintine and neats foot
This memorandum, with its homely jiimblin<^
of prophetic delusions and domestic detail, docs
not express much alarm ; although Wappoo
lies well within the district thus devoted to
fire and sword, and the two ladies and little
Polly, Eliza's sister, were there alone. To Miss
Bartlett she writes of the same occurrence.
3 33
ELIZA PINCKNEY
^' Poor man ! With what anguish must he reflect
on making the spirrit of God the Author of his
weaknesses ... I hope he will be a warning to
all pious minds not to reject reason and revelation
and set up in their stead their own wild notions.
He fancied indeed he was soported in his oppin-
ions by the sacred oracles, and, (as a father of
our Church observes) ^ so did all the preachers of
herissy in the primitive church.'
*'But why should we not expect to be deluded
when we reject that assistance w*"- the bountiful
Author of our Being has revealed to us. . . .
''I can't conclude till I have told you I see the
Comett Sir I. Newton foretold should appear in
1741; and w*^.!' in his oppinion is that that will de-
stroy the world, how long it may be travelling down
to us he does not sa}^; but I think it does not con-
cern us much, as our time of action is over at our
death, the exact time of w*"- is uncertain; tho' we
may reasonably expect it within the utmost limits
mentioned by the Psalmist ..."
The poor gentleman was probably mad. The
remarks might apply to many visionaries of the
present century. Of the comet she writes
again in answer to some joking questions of
her friend : —
<^By your inquiry after the Comett I find your
curiosity has not been strong enough to raise you
out of your bed so much before y- usual time as
34
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
mine has been; but to answer your queries. The
comett had the appearance of a very large Starr
with a tail, and to my sight about 5 or 6 foot long,
its real magnitude must be then prodigious, the
tail was much paler than the comett itself, not
unlike the milky way, 'twas about a fortnight ago
that I saw it.
<<The brightness of the Comett was too dazling
for mee to give you the information you require.
I could not see whether it had petticoats on or not,
but I am inclined to think by its modest appearance
so early in the morning it won't permit every idle
gazer to behold its splendour, a favour it will only
grant to such as take pains for it. From hence I
conclude if I could have discovered any clothing
it would have been the female garb; besides if it
is an}'- mortal transformed to this glorious luminary,
why not a woman ?
''The light of the Comett to my unphilosophical
Eyes seems to be natural and all its own; how
much it may really borrow from the sun, I am not
astronomer enough to tell."
Next comes an invitation. What is meant
by " Praetorship " is not known, — probably
the Speakership of the House of Assembly, an
office which Colonel Pinckney held for some
years. To Miss Bartlett : —
''I did not receive your letter in time or should
certainly have come to town to hear the sermon,
on a subject so new to mee, T am however much
35
ELIZA PINCKNEY
obliged to you for remembering mee on the occa-
tion. I must beg leave to say the rest to Col.
Pinckney. My thanks are due to you also Sir for
yJ very obliging invitation to 3'.^ grand festival.
Give me leave also to congratulate you on yP. Second
Praetorship; a Gent"?, of y- convention informed
me you was to be chosen for the ensuing year. I
am with Mama's and my best respects. . . .''
On the whole they saw a good deal of society,
and Miss Lucas evidently considered herself
as having a pleasant life. She was besides
singularly independent of society in the ordi-
nary sense of tlie word. It was her great
good fortune that besides a taste for music and
literature, a true and genuine love of nature
was always hers. In girlhood she was happy
and content in the companionship of flowers,
birds, and trees. Her pleasure, although ex-
pressed in the formal phraseology of her time,
is unaffected and sincere. She describes the
birth-night ball in ten lines, but gives a page
of foolscap to a cage of nestling mocking-birds
fed by the old ones from without. In her old
age she laments for the felling of trees as for
the loss of friends.
Happy they to whom nature is so dear !
She gives no wounds or scars, but keeps heart
and mind fresh and green with her own un-
dying youth.
36
Ill
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
1742-1744
The part of the country in which Colonel
Lucas had left his family is, although of course
perfectly flat, extremely pretty. Its position
on a salt creek and sheltered from the north
winds renders the climate peculiarly mild, so
that at the present day when the chief pro-
ductions are strawberries and vegetables, the
farmers have a week or ten days' advantage
over their neighbors, a few miles off on the
Ashley, who suffer from the draught of the
river.
The trees here grow to a great size, the land
is fertile, and all growth is vigorous and luxu-
riant. A better place could hardly be found
for an agricultural enthusiast, or for one who
loved to plant and wait the growth of years.
This letter to Miss Bartlett (one of many) shows
Miss Lucas's pleasure in these pursuits : —
Dear Miss Bartlett, — The contents of your
last concerns us much as it informs us of the acci-
37
ELIZA PINCKNEY
dent to Col! Pinckney, I hope M"".^ Pinckne}^ dont
apprehend any other danger from the fall than its
spoiling him for a horseman; if it only prevents
him riding that dancing beauty Chickasaw for
the future, I think 'tis not much to be lamented,
he has as many tricks and airs as a dancing
bear. Wont you laugh at me if I tell you I am
so busy in providing for Posterity I hardly allow
myself time to Eat or sleep, and can but just snatch
a minuet to write to you and a friend or two more.
I am making a large plantation of oaks w^^" I
look upon as my own property, whether my father
gives me the land or not, and therefore I design
many years hence when oaks are more valueable
than they are now, ^v'^-' you know they will be
when we come to build fleets, I intend I say, 2
thirds of the produce of my oaks for a charrity,
(I'll let you know my scheme another time) and
the other 3'^ for those that shall have the trouble of
puting my design in Execution; I sopose accord-
ing to custom you will show this to y"" Uncle and
Aunt. ^' She is good girl " says M'"^ Pinckney, " she
is never Idle and always means well " — '' tell the
little Visionary," says your Uncle, ^^come to town
and partake of some of the amusements suitable to
her time of life," pray tell him I think these so,
and what he may now think, whims and projects may
turn out well by and by — out of many surely one
may hitt.
I promised to tell you when the mocking bird
began to sing, the little warbler has done wonders;
38
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
tlie first time he opend liis soft pipe this spring
lie inspired me \vitli the spirrit of E-yraeing and
produced the 3 following lines while I was laceing
my Stays.
Sing on thou charming mimick of the fcatherd kind
And let the rational a les.son learn from thee
To mimick (not defects) but harmony.
If 3^011 let any mortal besides your self see this
exquisite peice of poetry, you shall never have a
line more than this specimen, and how great will
be 3'^our loss you who have seen the above may
judge as well as
Your most obed- Serv-
Eliza Lucas
For near and kind neighbors she had Mr.
Deveaux, a Huguenot gentleman, who is fre-
quently mentioned as giving her good advice
about her planting, and who assisted very ma-
terially in bringing the indigo to perfection ;
and two ladies who lived within easy walking
distance. They were Mrs. Woodward and her
daughter Mrs. Chardon, the latter being then
the young widow of a Huguenot gentleman be-
longing to a family now extinct. Miss Lucas
loved her tenderly, and on the occasion of her
being desperately ill, exclaims that the illness
was brought on because, " being ever as good
as woman could be, she would fain have been
an angel before her time." Mrs. Chardon
3<J
ELIZA PINCKNEY
afterwards married the Rev. Dr. Hiitson of the
Independent Church, and from her were de-
scended several prominent persons.
These ladies belonged to the family of the
very first Englishman ever resident in Caro-
lina (first Englishman^ for Ribault and his
Frenchmen had spent some montlis at Port
Royal a hundred years before). The curious
story is told in the Shaftesbury Papers now
owned by the City Council of Charleston.
In 1665 the Lords Proprietors sent an expedi-
tion to examine the coast of tlie very vaguely
defined region, wliich had been granted to
them by Charles II. Sir John Yeamans, whose
name is always coming up in those early years,
was in charge, but he sent in his stead Robert
Sandford, who " represented the Lords Pro-
prietors in tlie County of Clarendon on the Cape
Fear." With him went Dr. Woodward, a " clii-
rurgeon," and friend of the Earl of Shaftes-
bury. These men explored the coast from the
Cape Fear to Port Royal, and give a glowing
account of the " fatt black soil " of Edistoh, etc.
While in North Edistoh Inlet, there came
down to them a friendly Indian who had
been on the Cape Fear, called the Cassique of
Kiawah. It sounds like a name of romance,
but the Shaftesbury Papers vouch for him.
This deluded savage was extremely anxious for
40
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
the white men to settle in his country, and to
that end lie proposed to Sandford that one of
his party should come on shore and remain
with him, while his sister's son, a " propper
young fellow," should sail away with the
Englishman '' for the mutuale learning of the
languages."
Sandford and Dr. Woodward had already
had some such plan, and the courageous " chi-
rurgeon" was left alone, Sandford *' giving
Woodward formall possession of the wdiole
country to hold as Tennant att will of the
Right Hono-^ the Lords Proprietors." It was
of more consequence that the Cassique honor-
ably fulfilled his part of the bargain, making
his guest comfortable after the manner of his
" nacon," and delivering him up in safety
when Sayle arrived in 1670. Dr. Woodward
was then of importance, and was cousidered the
immediate representative of Shaftesbury.
From the hero of this adventurous story, the
husband of Miss Lucas's elder friend was de-
scended. Of the lady herself she writes, " My
valueable and w^orthy friend M Woodward who
I know has as much tenderness for me as any
woman in the world (my own good Mama
hardly excepted), incourages me in every laud-
able persuit." Besides these friends close at
hand, she was, when she could be spared from
41
ELIZA PINCKNEY
home, within easy reach of the Ashley, where
some of tlie first gentlemen of the Province,
the Bulls, Bakers, Middletons, Draytons, etc.,
had already built themselves stately homes.
Of one of them she writes to Colonel Pinckney,
*^ You justly observe a completion of happiness
is not attainable in this life, to w^-^ truth I readily
subscribe at all times, but especially while the
disapointment we have just mett with in seeing
you and M""- Pinckney is recent. M^- Drayton (the
bride) with whom we lately spent a festal day at
the Lieu- Governour's, told us, 3^ou would this
week vizet 3^- friends at Ashley River, but your
last removes the pleasing prospect. I sliall how-
ever make myself all the amends I can by waiting
on Mrs Pinckney on Thursday next."
Of all the beautiful homes built by the
colonists along the left bank of the Ashley,
Drayton Hall alone remains. All the rest
went down in flames in 1865, This, kept to
be used as a hospital by the Federal army, still
stands, and has been restored to something of
its former state. A little way back from the
river, just far enough to allow of a wide lawn
stretching to the bank, its broad front com-
mands a lovely view of the winding stream.
One would like to have had some details of
the "festal day" spent there in 1743, but none
42
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
are given ; yet it would not be liard Avith the
nieinoiy of many old tales to picture to one-
self such a festivity.
We know for instance that when ]\riss Lucas
went to the feast, if she went by water, it was
in a low boat, probably a long canoe, hollowed
out of a mighty cypress thirty or forty feet
long, with sitting room for half a dozen in bow
and stern, and rowed by six or eight negroes,
all singing in faultless time and cadence as
they swung their paddles. In that case she
landed at the foot of the lawn and walked
across it to the house, demurely — following
*' My Mama." The rivers were the highways
then, and the people who came to church in
Charles Town from the surrounding country
came in canoes, — silently with quiet oars, as
became the day.
But St. Andrew's parish early boasted of its
good road, the best, and perhaps the first, in the
Province, for Old Town, the veritable first set-
tlement, stood upon it. It ran from where the
Wappoo and the Ashley join, as parallel with the
river as its windings would permit, but keep-
ing about half a mile from it, to where Bacon's
Bridge crossed the narrowing stream at Dor-
chester, where in 169G a colony from New
England had settled.
The avenues of the different places along
43
ELIZA PINCKNEY
the river led out to the road, thus giving to
each house a land and a water front, and the
church, lately enlarged to meet the needs of
the growing and wealthy parish, stood cm-
howered in oaks, beside it. This road was,
and still is, beautiful ; overhung with stately
trees under which bloom the bluest of violets
and most golden of jessamines. Here and there
a ruined gateway tells of what has been.
In Miss Lucas's day there was no thought
of ruins, and along this road the neighbors
came joyously when summoned to dinner or
to ball. They came, the gentlemen generally
on horseback, riding their small spirited horses
of the Chickasaw breed ; supposed to be de-
scended from barbs left by the early Spanish
discoverers, which, when modified by the blooded
strain imported from England, made fine racers
and hunters. The ladies came in chaises ;
Mrs. Lucas had imported a four-wheeled post-
chaise only the year before. Chaises cost
seventy pounds to build then, besides the
freight.
On such an occasion as that referred to, a re-
ception for the young bride who had just come
from her own stately home of Middleton Place
a few miles up the Ashley, the guests naturally
wore all their braveries. Their dresses, bro-
cade, taffety, lutestring, etc., were well drawn
44
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
np through their pocket holes. Their slip-
pers, to match their dresses, had heels even
higher and more unnatural than our own.
Their cloalvs, cx})ansive to cover their enor-
mous hoops, were much like the Mother Hub-
bard cloaks worn a few years since. They
were made of silk, satin, or cloth, lined and
quilted, very full and set into small yokes.
One that belonged to Mrs. Pinckney still ex-
isted about forty years ago. It was of this
shape, greenish gray in color, and of lute-
string, a stuff between silk and satin, not un-
like our surah.
When we wear our grandmother's dresses
now, for a fancy ball or a drawing-room play,
we arrange them gracefully, with only a be-
coming spread to the skirts, and we give our
bodies room to breathe ; but the hoops or
fartln'ngales of that day were really hideous,
coming out straight from the waist and ex-
tending the skirt like a barrel, or a pincushion
doll. Their unhappy bodies were, w^e regret
to state, laced out of all shape till they looked
like pegs ; — as any one may sec in the old
cuts in ''The Spectator," or in " Ikll's British
Theatre," where Afrs. Gibber as Monimia, or
^Irs. Abingdon as Isaljella, is a painful iigure.
'T is true that in the back of the sacque, covered
by the Watteau plait of the court train, there
45
ELIZA PINCKNEY
is a laced piece. By pulling a bobbin, instant
relaxation may be obtained, but then how
many hours must have passed when the bobbin
could not be pulled !
Whether they came by land or by water we
may be sure that the ladies were met by
courteous bowing hosts, arrayed in powdered
hair, square cut coats, long waistcoats, breeches,
and buckled shoes. Wigs were going out then,
elderly gentlemen, and clerical or legal dignita-
ries wore them, but the " younger sort " tied
their hair back with a ribbon and powdered
it, — as Waverley and the Young Pretender did
in " the '45."
With bows and courtesies, and by the tips of
their lingers, the ladies were led up the high
stone steps to the wide hall, the beautiful hall
looking out to the river, and then up the stair-
case with its heavy carved balustrade to the
panelled rooms above ; wainscoted in long
narrow panels, and with high carved mantels,
and deep window-seats. Then, the last touches
put to the heads (too loftily piled Avith cushion,
puffs, curls, and lappets, to admit of being
covered with anything more than a veil or a
hood), they joined the gay company, who had
come perhaps from twenty miles around to do
honor to the occasion.
Gay would be the feast. The guests in that
46
r
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
neighborhood, chiefly English by birth or de-
scent, had the cheery ways of their race, and
still show us in their pictures the broad brows
and bluff cheeks of their ancestry. Miss Lucas
has already told us something of what the
country could furnish in the way of good cheer,
and we may be sure that venison and turkey
from the forest, ducks from the rice fields, and
fish from the river at their doors, were there.
The English style of cookery prevailed in pas-
ties and rounds of beef, but modified by the
country and its products. Turtle came from
the West Indies with " saffron and negroe
pepper, very delicate for dressing it." Rice
and vegetables were in plenty, — terrapins in
every pond, and Carolina hams proverbially
fine. The desserts were custards and creams
(at a wedding always bride cake, and float-
ing island), jellies, syllabubs, puddings, and
pastries.
The old silver, damask, and India china still
remaining, show how these feasts were set out ;
with the " plateau " in the centre of the tal)le, of
silver, glass, or china, the tall branching candle-
sticks, the two handled loving cups (tankards
they called them), the heavy salvers with Queen
Anne borders, and a shield or crest in the
middle. Plenty of spoons they had, and two-
pronged forks, but silver ones were not, and
47
ELIZA PINCKNEY
wliat — what was the use of that rounded
tip to the knives, silver handled and armorial
crested though they were ?
Those were not blue ribbon days. Our
fathers washed down their dinners with copious
draughts of good Madeira, '' East India " it was
called ; the idea being that it must have made
tlie India voyage, and have been well shaken
up in a sailing vessel, and then left to rest at
least a dozen years in a Carolina cypress
shingled garret, before it arrived at perfec-
tion. The writer remembers a letter (since de-
stroyed) in which a fatlier, one of the sober
Huguenot stock, wrote to his son on his
marriage : " I send you a pipe of wine for
immediate use, 'tis nearly your own age. By
importing a pipe every year and storing in your
garret, you will always have a bottle to offer
your friends." They had port and claret too,
especially when a French or Spanisli prize ship
was taken, and for suppers a delicious punch
called " shrub," compounded of rum, pine-
apples, lemons, etc., not to be commended by
a temperance society.
The dinner over, the ladies withdrew, and
before very long the scraping of the fiddlers
would call the gentlemen to \\\q dance — pretty
graceful dances, the minuet, stately and gra-
cious, which opened the ball ; and the country
48
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
dance, forerunner of our Virginia Reel, in
which every one old and young joined.
Gay, joyous old days, enjoyed alike by master
and man, by mistress and maid, when the
feast begun in the hall was continued in the
servants' quarters, and the negroes without
took up the dance, and footed gayly in the
piazzas and the lawn. All are gone now, but
the memory of the old tales survives.
It must have been after the distractions of
an entertainment such as we have tried to
reproduce, that Miss Lucas wrote to Mrs,
Pinckney : —
^^ I am afraid to trust mj^self at that agreeable
Spott [Belmont] and y*^ Company I meet with
there, lest it should make it too difficult for me to
return at the time I ought to be at home. At my
return hither every thing appeared gloomy and
lonesome, I began to consider what attraction there
was in this place that used so agreeably to soothe
my pensive humour, and made me indifferent to
every thing the ga}^ world could boast; but I
found the change not in the place but in myself,
and it doubtless proceeded from that giddy gay-
ety, and want of reflection which I contracted
when in town; and I was forced to consult Mr
Locke over and over, to see wherein personal
Identity consisted, and if I was the very same
Selfe."
4 49
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Fortified by Mr. Locke she returns to her
accustomed vocations, and writes to Miss
Bai-tlett : —
''I have got no further than the first vol- of
Virgil, hut was most agreahly disapointed to fiud
myself instructed in agriculture as well as enter-
tained hy his charming penn, for I am persuaded
'tho he wrote for Italy it will in many Instances
suit Carolina. I had never perused those hooks
before, and imagined I should immediately enter
upon battles, storms and tempests, that put mee in
a maze, and make mee shudder while I read. But
the calm and pleasing diction of pastoral and gar-
dening agreabl}^ presented themselves not unsuit-
ably to this charming season of the year, with
w^-^ I am so much delighted that had I butt the fine
soft Language of our Poet to paint it properly, I
should give you but little respite 'till you came
into the country, and attended to the beauties of
pure Nature unassisted by Art."
Thoughtful and self-reliant by nature, the
circumstances of this young lady's life and
surrounding's increased these characteristics,
and we find her, when urgently pressed to do
so, giving her opinion with modest firmness, on
the pleasures of society, and again planning to
help her poorer neighbors in their business,
and keep them and their little property out of
the clutches of the law. The letter gives a
50
A COUNTRY^ NEIGHBORHOOD
curious picture of the ways of the uneducated
class, even so near to a town : —
Dear !Mtss Bartlett, — After a pleasant
passage of about an hour we arrived safe at home
as I hope you and ^Irs. Pinckney did at Belmont;
but this place appeared much less agreable than
when I left it, having lost the company that then
enlivened it, the Scene is indeed much changed,
for instead of the Easy and agreeable conversation
of our Friends, I am engaged with the rudiments
of the Law, to w*:'' I am yett but a stranger, and
what adds to my mortification I soon discovered
that DoC" Wood [a law book] wants the considera-
tion of y-'". good Uncle, who with a graceful ease
and good nature peculiar to himself, is always
ready to instruct the ignorant. But this rustic
seems by no means to court my acquaintance for
he often treats me with such cramp phrases, I am
unable to understand him.
However I hope in a short time with the help of
Dictionary's french and English, we shall be better
friends; nor shall I grudge a little pains and appli-
cation, if that will make me useful to any of my
poor Neighbours, w^e have Some in this Neighbour-
hood, who have a little Land a few Slaves and Cat-
tle to give their Children, that never think of mak-
ing a will 'till they come upon a sick bed, and find
it too Expensive to send to town for a Law^^er.
If you will not laugh too immoderately at mee
I'll Trust you with a Secrett. I have made two
51
ELIZA PINCKNEY
wills already! I know I have done no harm, for
I con'd my lesson very perfect, and know how to
convey by will. Estates, Real and Personal, and
never forgett in its proper place, him and his heirs
forever, nor that ^tis to be signed by three wit-
nesses in presence of one anotlier; bnt the most
comfortable remembrance of all is that Doctr. Wood
says, the Law makes great allowance for Last Wills
and Testaments, presuming the Testator could not
have Council learned in the Law. But after all
what can I do if a poor Creature lies a-dying, and
their family takes it into their head that I can
serve them. I can't refuse; butt when they are
well, and able to employ a Lawyer, I always shall.
A widow hereabouts with a pretty little fortune,
teazed me intolerable to draw her a marriage set-
tlement, but it was out of my depth and I abso-
lutely refused it, so she got an abler hand to do it,
indeed she could afford it, but T could not gett off
from being one of the Trustees to her Settlement,
and an old gentleman the other.
I shall begin to think myself an old woman
before I am well a young one, having these
weighty affairs upon my hands.
After this very grave and practical epistle, it
is amusing to find one, containing a long criti-
cism of Richardson's sentimental novel Pamela,
written with about as much comprehension,
and as acute discrimination, as moy be found
in the letters of the nice girls of this day,
52
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
when they discuss The Heavenly Twins or The
Yellow xister.
The following letter, written to Miss Bartlett
who had returned to England, describes one of
the handsomest Colonial places " Crowfield,"
the seat of the Middleton family on Goose-
creek, a branch of the Cooper River. This fine
place has long been utterly destroyed. At the
" Oaks," the other place mentioned, also belong-
ing to the Middletons, the noble avenue, with
double rows of stately trees, still remains ; the
house was burned many years ago.
To Miss Bartlett in London.
I am determinM to extort a pardon from you
for my breach of promise by accusing y*!. good Uncle
and Aunt as the cause. You already know how
happy I am in their friendship, and how much
tliey study to make my Papa's absence easy to me
by a thousand obliging ways, in consequence of
this obliging disposition they lately contrived
a most agreable tour to Goose creek, S'. John's,
etc, to show those parts of the country in which
are several very handsome Gentleman's seats, at all
w*:^ we were entertain^, with the most friendly
politeness. The first we arrived at was Mr Wra.
Middletons, ''Crowfield," where we spent a most
agreeable week.
The house stands a mile from, but in sight of
the road, and makes a very handsome appearance ;
53
ELIZA PINCKNEY
as you draw near it new beauties discover them-
selves ; first tlie fruitful vine mantleing the wall,
loaded with delicious clusters. Next a spacious
Basin in the midst of a large Green presents itself
as you enter the gate that leads to the House w^il' is
neatly iinish'.l, the rooms well contrived and Ele-
gantly furnish » .
From the back door is a spacious walk a thousand
feet long ; each side of w'^l' nearest the house is a
grass plat ornamented in a Serpentine manner with
Flowers ; next to that on the right hand is what
imediately struck my rural taste, a thicket of
young, tall live oaks where a variety of airey Chor-
risters pour forth their melody, and my darling the
mocking bird joyn'd in the artless Concert and
inchanted me with his harmon3\ Opposite on the
left hand is a large square boling green, sunk a
little below the level of the rest of the garden, with
a walk quite round composed of a double row of
fine, large flowering Laurel and Catalpas w"} aford
both shade and beauty.
My letter will be of an unreasonable length if
I don't pass over the Mounts, wilderness, etc, and
come to the bottom of this charming spott where is
a large iisli pond with a mount rising out of the
middle the top of wh":'.* is level with the dwelling
House, and upon it is a roman temple, on each side
of this are other large fish ponds properly disposed
whicli form a line Prospect of water from the
bouse.
Beyond this are the smiling fields dressed in
54
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
Vivid green; here Ceres aiul Pomona joyn hand in
hand to crown the hospitable board. ... I am
quite tired of writing as I sopose you are of read-
ing and ca'nt say a word of the other seats I saw in
tliis ramble, except the Counts large double row of
Oaks, on each side the Avenue w*:!' leads to the
House, and seems design*!, by Nature for pious
meditation and friendly converse.
I won't say a word of the conquest I made of the
old Gent'" the Owner of this Mansion, not because
I imagine you will think me vain, but because I
know y- Uncle who is much pleased, will send you
a full account.
Meanwhile Govci-nor Lucas was thinking
seriously of his daughter's '' settlement in life."
In those days marriage generally was a very
practical affair ; not quite so bad as in France ;
but still the plirase, " a marriage has been
arranged." meant precisely what it said. So,
in the formal fashion of the time, her father
proposed to Miss Lucas two gentlemen, either
of whom would have been agreeable to him.
Not to Miss Lucas, however. Her letter on the
subject is very amusing, — so respectful, so
dutiful, and so full of the determination to have
her own way : —
Honoured Sir, — Your letter by way of Phila-
delphia w*:^ I duly received was an additional proof
of that paternal tenderness w'rl' I have always Ex-
ELIZA PINCKNEY
perienced from the most Iiululgent of Parents from
my Cradle to the present time, and the subject of it
is of the utmost importance to my peace and hap-
piness.
As you propose Mr L. to me I am sorry I can't
have Sentiments favourable enough to him to take
time to think on the Subject, as your Indulgence
to me will ever add weight to the duty that obliges
me to consult what best pleases you, for so much
Generosity on your part claims all my Obedience.
But as I know 'tis my Happiness you consult, I
must beg the favour of you to pay my compliments
to the old Gentleman for his Generosity and favour-
able Sentiments of me, and let him know my
thoughts on the affair in such civil terms as you
know much better than any I can dictate; and beg
leave to say to you that the riches of Chili and Peru
put together if he had them, could not purchase
a sufficient Esteem for him to make him my
husband.
As to the other gentleman j^ou mention, Mr W.,
you know Sir I have so slight a knowledge of him
I can form no judgement, and a Case of such con-
siquence requires the nicest distinction of humours
and Sentiments.
But give me leave to assure you my dear Sir that
a single life is my only Choice; — and if it were
not as I am yet but Eighteen hope you will put
aside the thoughts of my marrying yet these two or
three years at least.
You are so good as to say 3'ou have too great
A COUNTRY NEIGHBORHOOD
an opinion of my prudence to think I would enter-
tain an indiscreet passion for any one, and I hope
Heaven will direct me that I may never disapoint
you, and what indeed could induce me to make a
Secret of my Inclination to my best friend, as I am
well asured you would not disaprove it to make me
a Sacrifice to wealth, and I am as certain I would
indulge no passion that had not your aprobation, as
I truely am
D' Sir Your most dutiful & affect Daughter
E. Lucas.
We know not what answer the father made,
but he was probably reasonable and kind, for
the rejected suitors are not again alluded to,
and the young lady was permitted her '' Choice '^
at her own time.
57
lY
MARRIAGE
1742-1744
All this time the home duties and the Eng-
lish correspondence were being attended to.
Polly indeed had been sent to school in Charles
Town '' at Mrs. Hick's at 140 pound per an-
num," but her sister found plenty to do.
There are frequent letters to Mrs. Boddicott
about the ill boy ; and about some of the " in-
dentured servants," who generally seem to have
given much trouble and often ran away, —
one even enlisting to fight the Indians. There
are letters of tbanks to her father for pres-
ents : " The last box from England," " The
twenty pistols." Very pleasant the English
boxes seem to have been.
"Acknowledge the rech of a piece of rich yellow
Lutestring consisting of 19 y^? for myself — do.
of blue for my Mama, & thanked my Father, for them,
also for a piece of Hollands and Cambrick rec*^ from
London. Tell him we have had a moderate and
healthy summer and are preparing for the King's
birtlulaj" next day.'^
58
MARRIAGE
These English " boxes " must have been a
general and very agreeable fashion. In the diary
of another great-grandfather of the writer, he,
being in England, recorded, '' Sent my wife
(in Carolina) a piece of blue brocade, also one
of lutestring to make her gownds — item a
piece of Hollands to shirts for mee, also 12
y«?? of Flanders lace, item, bookes — The Whole
Duty of Married Life &y^ third Yol. of Clarissa
Harlowe."
A husband worth having, with a very pretty
theory of The Whole Duty, etc. !
There are many letters to her " cousen " Miss
Fanny Fayrweather, who had recovered her
health and her property, and was living happily
with an uncle Fayrweather in Boston, and
was " much delighted with that country."
^' Wrote to my cousen in Boston by Mr Pelham
recommending him as a Musick Master, & beging
the favour of her that she would recommend him to
all her acquaintance, that I had learn'^ of him my-
self. Sent her some peach trees and our Countr}--
patatoes."
**Sent my Cousin by Cap* Broderick a bar.^ of
Rice and patatoes. I informed her of my Papa's
coining soon to us or sending for us to go to Him."
In return for these presents Miss Fayrweather
sent apples, — a gift highly prized by the Eng-
lish-bred girl. ^3
ELIZA PINCKNEY
There are frequent references to this probable
return to Antigua, their stay in Carolina ap-
parently depending upon Governor Lucas being
appointed to some command in that Province
or in Georgia. A certain Colonel Heron would
have been willing to change commissions with
Colonel Lucas, but asked too large a bonus,
**not knowing that my Papa's regiment had
been Augmented." He is informed, but the
exchange was not effected.
Then ]\Iiss Lucas had great hopes of her
father being put in place of Oglethorpe whom
she seems to have hated. She sends her father
this, and many other notes to the same effect,
apropos of the fruitless expedition against the
Spaniards at St. Augustine, undertaken by
the united forces of South Carolina and Geor-
gia, the sole effect of which was some inglorious
loss of life from disease, and a heavy debt :
*' Gen.! Oglethorpe greatly blamed ; the Capt.*
of the men of wars sent home their remon-
strance and the people their grievance, sixty
articles against him."
The Spaniards retaliated by making a descent
upon Fort St. Simons, and the little island of
Frederika on the coast of Georgia. The plant-
ers were alarmed lest their negroes should
be carried off, as had been done before, to
GO
MARRIAGE
St. Augustine. Garden Ilill was exposed to
this danger, and Miss Lucas says : —
^* Wrote to my father . . . informed him that
ye 30**^ of June an Express arrived from Georgia
that 12 hundred Spainyards were landed at a small
island near Frederika. AVrote to Murray upon the
least alarm or apprehension of danger immediately
to bring down the negroes. Informed him also of
Capt. Frankland taking four vessels, one said to
be worth 10 thousand pound sterling."
The Spaniards, however, were frightened
away and the danger was soon passed. But
the Carolinians were not satisfied, holding
that the enemy should have been pursued and
not allowed to escape so easily. Miss Lucas
wrote : —
^^ Sept". S*!" wrote my father a full and long
acC" of 5000 Spainyards landing at S- Symons.
We were greatly alarmed in Carolina; 80 prisoners
now in C- Town. They had a large fleet but were
scattered by bad weather, our little fleet from
Carolina commanded by Cap* Hardy could not get
to yF. Generals assistance; the enemy were sailed
to S" Wanns. 'Tis said Cap* Hardy instead of
cruizing off S* Augustine barr, where 'twas prob-
able he W.4 find them, returnd with all his men
to C'? Town, w*^" has greatly disgusted the Gov.^
and Council, as well as the rest of ye Inhab
61
ELIZA PINCKNEY
itance. There is sent now 3 men of Warr and 4
Provincial Vessells, under the command of Cap.l
Franldand."
Oglethorpe was tried on his return to Eng-
land. Walpole, who knew a great deal of the
inside history of things, speaks of this and
other court-martials sneeringly ; Oglethorpe he
says " always was a bully, and is now tried for
cowardice." He was acquitted of all charges.
Had Miss Lucas been one of the court there
would certainly hav(? been a minority report.
Her feelings, however, were not entirely in-
spired by prejudice or interest, for friendship
(and she was a thorougli-going friend) also
spoke : —
To Govl Lucas.
Col. Cook his son and two daughters calH.
upon US a fortnight since on their way from Georgia
to C^? Town. Tlie ladies told me their papa had
met with cruel Treatment from Gen- Oglethorpe;
when he was so ill they dispair.^ of liis life, the
Gen A would not give him leave persu?.nt to the
Doctor's advice to leave Frederika and stay a short
time at Savanah for the change of air. He liad all
his letters intercepted and could neither send nor
receive any, and when by Mrs Cook's going to
England herself she procured leave for her hus-
band's return to England, some of Mr Oglethorpe's
creatures contrived to keep it in the Secretary of
62
MARRIAGE
Warr's office a month, and liis son was obliged to
come at last to fetch him. They sail from hence
in about ten da3's for London. I hope Col. Cooks
representation of his conduct, and this change of
ministry, with the Enquiry about to be made, how
tlie publick mon}^ has been apply- for some years
past, among w'^- those large summs that has been
given for Georgia must be accounted for, will
produce some good effect. From the expected
alterations in Georgia we draw some hopes of see-
ing my dear papa settled with us once again.
In order to end the story the followinoj letter,
although not written until 1745, is given at
once : —
To George Lucas Jk
We hear that Cap* Utting has had his Tryal and
honourably acquitted, and we shall in all probabil-
ity have a forty-gun ship stationed at Port Royal.
Poor Col. Cook is broke on ace* of his com-
plaint against Mr Oglethorpe. The last mentioned
carry.? many of his own Creatures home with him
w'^.V did the business ; and thus we find a man of
Col. Cook's fair character ruind by this wretch
who had a superiour Influence at Court.
The plan of a return to Antigua w^as never
carried out, so far as Miss Lucas was concerned.
Her letters in the early part of 1743 are chiefly
filled with anxiety about the health of her
younger brother, Tom. The child had never
63
ELIZA PINCKNEY
recovered strength since having the small-pox,
and more than once his life had been despaired
of. There are pathetic little notices of his good-
ness and resignation, his " quick parts," his
" pretty stile in writing," and so on ; and " my
Mama's grief " at his condition. Governor
Lucas was very anxious for him to be sent
eitlier to Antigua or to Carolina. The friends
and physicians in England thought him not
fit for the voyage, and the doubt was harassing.
Troubles never come alone, and theirs were
increased by the desperate illness of the elder
son George, in Antigua. His sister (who
seems to have liad her seniority very much on
her conscience) wrote him, about this time, a
letter which, when considered as the familiar
expression of the faith and piety of a gay
young girl, taking her part in the society of her
day, shows that the liabits and manners of the
world are not incompatible with a true sense
of religion : —
I have been thinking my dear Brother how
necessary it is for young people such as we are, to
lay down betimes a plan for our conduct in life, in
order to living not only agreeably in this early
season of it, but with cheerfulness in maturity,
comfort in old age and with happiness to eternity;
and I can find but one scheme to attain all those
desirable ends, and that the Xtian scheme. To
64
MARRIAGE
live agreeably to the dictates of reason and religion,
to keep a strict guard over not only our actions, but
our very thouglits before they ripen into action, to
be active in every good word and work, must pro-
duce a peace and calmness of mind beyond expres-
sion. To be conscious we have an Almighty friend
to bless our Endeavours, and to assist us in all Diffi-
culties, gives rapture beyond all the boasted Enjoy-
ments of the world, allowing them their utmost
Extent & fulness of joy. Let us then, my dear
Brother, set out riglit and keep the sacred page
always in view.
You have entered into the Army and are not
yet sixteen years of age, consider then to how
many dangers you are exposed, (I don't now mean
those of the field) but those that proceed from
youth and youthful company, pleasure and dissi-
pation. You are a Soldier, and Victory- and con-
quest must fire your mind, remember then the
greatest conquest is a Victor}^ over your own ir-
regular passions, consider this is the time for Im-
provement in Virtue as well as in everything else,
and 'tis a dangerous weakness to put it off till
age and infirmities incapacitates us to put our
good designs in practice. . . .
Excuse my fears my much loved brother, and
believe they are excited by the tenderest regard
for your welfare, and then I will inform you that
I ani in some pain (notwithstanding your natural
good sense, for the force of example is great) lest
you should be infected with the fashionable but
5 65
ELIZA PINCKNEY
sliameful vice, too common among the young &
gay of your sex. I mean pretending a disbelief
of and a ridiculing of religion, to do w^.^ they must
first Enslave their reason, and then, Where is the
rule of Life ?
However, it requires some fortitude to oppose
numbers, but cherish this most necessary Virtue,
'tis so to all mankind, particularly to a Soldier,
stand firm and unshaken then, in what is right,
in spite of infidelity and ridicule; and you can't
be at a loss to know what is right when the Divine
Goodness has furnished you with reason w*"- is his
natural revelation, and with his written word su-
pernaturally revealed and delivered to the world
of mankind by his son Jesus Christ.
Examine carefully and unprejudicedly and I am
convinc'" you will have no doubts as to the truth
of revelation . . , God is Truth itself and can't
reveal naturally or supernatarally contrarieties.
The Christian religion is what the wisest men in
all ages have assented to, (when I speak of religion
I mean such as is delivered in the Scripture with-
out any view to any particular party with exclu-
sion of all the rest) ; it has been acknowledged by
the wisest men of our nation and many others that
revealed religion is consonant to the most exact
reason, 'tho some things may appear at first sight
contrary to it, but you must observe, there may be
things above 'tho not contrary to reason; give me
leave to show you how Mr. Boyle illustrates it by
the following comparison. ...
66
MARRIAGE
While I am inculcating this doctrine [of hu-
mility] before you, don't let me forget to practise
it myself and ask your pardon for thus presuming,
and hope you will receive it as a testimony of the
tenderest regard from
Your most affectionate Sister,
E. Lucas.
The peculiar kind of infidelity against which
this anxious sister thus warns her young brother,
indicates the period. The sneering and jeering
of Voltaire and the Encyclopaedists were al-
ready in the air. There is nothing eloquent or
even original in her words, but they are an
honest and thoughtful confession of faith and
*' scheme of life."
Tom, in the meanwhile grew worse, and it
was at last decided, apparently as a desperate
expedient, that he should attempt the voyage
to the West Indies. At the same time Gov-
ernor Lucas sent his son George to bring his
mother and sisters home to meet him.
Another illness, however, Mrs. Pinckney's,
to which for more than a year past there had
been frequent allusion in the letters, had drawn
to its close. She died only a few months before
Miss Lucas was summoned to Antigua. The
widower could not see his young friend depart
67
ELIZA PINCKNEY
with equanimity. Mrs. Pinckney, the Family
Legend says, had been so attached to lier young
friend, and so averse to her returning to An-
tigua, that she had more than once declared,
that rather than have her lost to Carolina, she
would herself " be willing to step down and
let her take her place." Probably the poor
lady had no idea that Fate — and her husband,
would take this declaration so entirely cm pied
de la lettre, but so they did, and within a few
months Miss Lucas became the second Mrs.
Pinckney.
No one seems to have been at all scandalized,
and when the circumstances of the case, length
of voyage, dangers of the sea, probability of
capture by a Spanish cruiser, etc., are con-
sidered, perhaps the haste may be forgiven.
The proposal, we are told, was " very agreeable
to my Mama ; " Governor Lucas did his duty
handsomely as to dower and trousseau, and
on the 25th of May 1744, Governor Glen gave
a marriage license " authorizing Charles Pinck-
ney and Eliza Lucas to intermarry, and the said
Charles Pinckney binds himself by a bond of
2000 pounds to the faithful performance of the
contract."
The following letter is the last signed with
Miss Lucas's maiden name : —
68
MARRIAGE
To Gov^-, Lucas.
Wappoo, May 2"^
HoN^ SiK, — I received your indulgent letter
of the 26'-^ of March and take the earliest oppor-
tunity to express my Thanks for that and for the
fortune you are pleased to proroise me. I have
had too many instances of your paternal affection
and tenderness to doubt your doing all in your
power to make me happy, and I beg leave here to
acknowledge particularly my obligation to you for
the pains and money you laid out in my Education,
which I esteem a more valuable fortune than any
you could now have given me, as I hope it will tend
to make me happy in my future life, and those in
whom I am most nearly concern*?..
I shall always endeavour to deserve 3'our favour
by the strickest filial duty and obedience; Nature
Sir, has bound you to a fatherly care of me, but
nature, gratitude and every tender regard joyn to
make my duty to you secure. Mr. P has told
my mama that he is fully satisfied with what you
intend him, and desires me to tell you so, and that
if it will embarrass your affairs he will readily
resign it. You seem a little displeased that my
Mama and Brother did not communicate this affair
to you; by which we perceive their letters have
miscaryd for they certainly did write. My Brother
and I have wrote three times since the first of
January, and Duplicated those letters, if any oppor-
tunity has escaped us 'twas when we were on our
Southern tour.
69
ELIZA PIN CRN EY
Mama tenders you her affections and my Brother
and Polly joyn in duty with
Hon?. Sir
Your most dutiful Daughter
Eliza Lucas.
70
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
Something must now be said of the Pinckney
family into which Miss Lucas had married.
The first emigrant of the name to Carolina
came from the North of England in 1692, and
is called in a paper signed soon after his arrival,
'' Thomas Pinckney, Gentleman." This epithet
applied to an Englishman of that time, implied
a certain social standing, and seems to have
been equally true of this particular English-
man, when used in our sense of the word. The
emigration was not made without due thought,
for in the preceding year Mr. Pinckney had
made a voyage to the West Indies, and to Caro-
lina, to spy out the land, before determining his
choice of a home. On that voyage he had seen
an attack upon a British merchantman by a
Spanish cruiser, and so knew something per-
sonally of the first dangers of colonization.
When he came he brought his young wife,
Mary Cotesworth, with him. She too was from
Durham in the " bonnie North Countrie," and
we do not know why they crossed the seas to
71
ELIZA riNCKNEY
set up their household gods in Carolina. They
were possessed of a fair property, but what
goods and chattels they brought with them we
do not know. A mourning ring of three small
diamonds with an enamelled hoop, inscribed,
" Ch?. Cotesworth — Aetat 72 — ob. 1701,"
alone remains of all their possessions. Prob-
ably they were the plain necessary utensils of
daily life, for plain and rough the life must
have been; although coming as late as 1G92,
they escaped the terrible first years of the col-
ony, those years which are always so interesting
to read of, and so horrible to endure.
By 1G92 Charles Town was a stirring little
place with a good trade, chiefly with the West
Indies, and not much trouble from the Indians.
When this young couple arrived, they found a
little hamlet, clinging close to the east water
front of the swampy peninsula between the
Ashley and the Cooper, Avhich jutted out into
the bay formed by the conlluence of the two
rivers. The land was low and intersected with
creeks, which added greatly to the difficulties of
the new settlement. On one of these, on the
southern edge of the town, the landgrave Smith
had a fcAV years before planted one of the first
patches of rice grown in the i^roAince.
From this creek the houses ran northward
along the Cooper River on the present East-
THE riNCKNEY FAMILY
Bay. On the opposite side of the street was
an embankment, or fortification with bastions.
The whole line from Craven bastion at the
south, to Granville at the north end, was not
more than tlirce of our squares in length. On
tlie west, parallel with the Bay, was Church
Street, with the little " French Meeting House "
upon it ; and west of that was Meeting Street,
with the Independent (called from its color
the White) Meeting House ; and St. Philip's
Church, on the site of the present Saint Mi-
chael's. The town walls ran down Meeting
Street close in front of these, enclosing thus
a small irregular parallelogram (if such a
thing can be), bounded north and south by
creeks, where Water Street and the market
now are. Opposite to St. Philip's (just built,
and the pride of the place), where the Court
House now stands, was a " half moon " in the
wall, with a drawbridge which gave egress to
the country without.
The rest of the peninsula, the present city,
was dotted with small houses and little farms
where some persons lived without the walls. It
was so thickly wooded that in this same year
1692, the Assembly passed a bill ordering it
cleared of underwood, possibly for safety, as
nnderwood might cover an Indian attacking
party.
73
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Thomas Pinckney bought land and settled a
plantation to the southward on the Ashepoo
River, and called it Auckland, in memory of
the beautiful town of Bishop-Auckland in Dur-
ham, whence he and his wife came ; but he was
a merchant as well as a planter (as many were
in those days), and he lived in Charles Town in
a house which he built for himself at the south-
west corner of Tradd and East-Bay Streets. It
was a pleasant situation, open to the water with
only the seawall in front of it, as the houses
on East Battery stand to-day. Just across the
street was Tradd's house ; the street taking its
name from "The first male child born in C?
Town ; Robert, son of Mr. Richard and Eliza-
beth Tradd. Of an agreeable person, noble
mind, etc, etc, and died the 30- of June 1731
in the 52''"'^ year of his age, and is interred
within the walls of this church, to the support
of the ministry whereof he bequeathed the
profits of 1000 pounds forever, besides a con-
siderable legacy to the Poor of the Province."
All of which was duly set forth on a mural
tablet in the " White Meeting."
This good looking and charitable gentleman
must have been thirteen, when Mr. and Mrs.
Pinckney came to live opposite to him and his
parents, and it is to be hoped that they were
pleasant neighbors.
74
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
Much must have depended on neighbors
then. One would like very much to Ivnow how
the young wife, Mary Cotesworth, managed,
and what she did. How did she stand the
change from the green hills and breezy moors
of Durham, to the low swampy village and
semi-tropical heat of her new home ? The
town was in those first years so sickly (and it
had every right so to be) that the country
around, higher, dryer, and more thickly covered
with pines, was esteemed healthy in compari-
son,— as frequently appears in Miss Lucas's
letters. Now the clearing of forests and lay-
ing bare of swamps have made the country
deadly, while malarial fever is most rare in
Charleston, so much have drainage, cistern
water, and the smoke of many fires done for
the city.
Besides the climate, there were other hard
conditions. Did she have indentured servants ?
They were said to be either idle and worthless,
or else to feel their own value so strongly as to
be at best but lenient masters. Did she have
negroes ? There were not many at that early
period, and they were savages, untaught and
untrained. When her baby came four years
afterwards, how she must have trembled and
shrunk, poor little North Country girl, from
the strange, uncouth creatures, if she had to
75
ELIZA PINCKNEY
give her child to one of these to nuree. She
could not have known that those dark beings,
with their unintelligible speech, held the poten-
tialit}' of the dear old " maumas " of later days,
tenderest and most faithful of nurses.
Tlie Colony had had its internal troubles,
but they were not as great as in many others.
There were quarrels of authority, of churches,
etc., but in the main the government was fair,
and although the Church of England had great
prestige, and did after a while succeed in get-
ting itself " established," the others were not
interfered with, and it was only the French
Huguenots who had much to complain of.
They were called " aliens," and were, it must
be said, badly treated until the year 1692, when
laws were passed securing their personal and
political rights.
The historian Ramsay dates the prosperity
of Carolina from this very year 1692, when
various other disputes were settled by wise legis-
lation. It must have thriven to have deserved
the following account of it given by Mr. John
Lawson, an English government surveyor, who
spent several years there. He says : —
" This Colony was at first planted by a genteel
sort of people that were well acquainted with the
trade, and had either money or parts to make good
use of the advantages that offered, as most have
76
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
done by raising tliemsclves to great estates. . . .
Their inliabiting in a town lias drawn to them
ingenious persons of most sciences, whereby they
have tutors among them that educate their youth
alaviode, . . . Tlie merchants of Carolina are fair
fuank traders The gentlemen seated in the coun-
try are very courteous, live very nobly in their
houses, and give very genteel entertainments to all
strangers and others that come to visit them/'
This is rather a striking account (and there
is much more of it) of a colony only thirty
years old. By "well acquainted with the
trade" Lawson probably means the West
Indian trade, sufficiently described in the let-
ters of Governor Lucas and his daughter. To
England the colonists sent rice, already (in
1700) producing more than they could easily
get freight for, and also skins. It seems
strange to remember that ours was then a fur-
producing state, as Alaska is now. The woods
were then full of deer, bears, raccoons, otters,
and other beasts. The Indians brought them
down to the coast for rum and less iniquitous
exchanges, and the pelts found ready sale.
The deadly " firewater " was furnished to
these unhappy children of the forest without
the least compunction, by the godly North and
South. The Hon. William A. Courtenay in his
centennial address, on the Incorporation of
ELIZA PINCKNEY
the City of Charleston, quotes a gentleman,
long resident in South Carolina (1731), who
stated that " Charles Town traded with eight
thousand Indians, and yet, nine hundred hogs-
heads of rum was the utmost they ever im-
ported in one year for home consumption and
for trade with those eight thousand Indians."
Evidently the gentleman, like Lord Clive,
"stood astonished at his own moderation."
The house on the Bay must have been a de-
lightful point of vantage for the tliree bright-
eyed little Pinckney boys, whose father was
concerned in all this trade. From their own
windows they could throw a stone into the broad
river mouth before them, — the river mouth
which only a hundred yards lower down be-
came the bay. When a ship came in, sailing
slowly up with broad bows and queerly shaped
sails, laden deep with sugar, rum, molasses,
and fruit, what an excitement if 't was for their
" dear papa." The sailors fought and quarrelled
in the streets, and were so unruly that a bell
rang at seven o'clock every evening as a signal
for them to go on board again. If they resisted,
the patrol, the armed guard of citizens who
were the police of the time, took them in cus-
tody, and sent them to their vessels^ or to the
Court of Guard, which was at the end of Broad
Street, w^here the Post-office is now.
78
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
When the English ships came with all their
varied freights, — their interest was even keener,
for then came the home letters over which their
mother laughed and cried. Half way across
the river was the long shoal island almost
covered at high water, on which the sailors
beached their vessels, or fishermen drew their
nets, as seen in an old print of the time.
Little Charles Pinckney, the second son, a
laughing sweet-tempered, brown-eyed little boy,
must have looked often from his windows at
the busy workers on the shoal. It was called
" Shute's Folly " then, but in after years was
to bear the Fort, named in honor of his own
son, " Castle Pinckney." When the storms and
" hurricanes " came, the spray must have
dashed above the roof, and the water risen high
within their house.
This little boy was not old enough to re-
member the storm by which the White Meet-
ing got a pastor, in surely the oddest way
in which ever a pulpit was filled. The Rev.
Mr. Stobo had gone down to that unlucky
Scotch colony at Darien. When the calami-
tous failure there came, he set sail to re-
turn to Scotland. Off Charles Town bar they
stopped for water and supplies. The people,
hearing that the reverend gentleman was lying
outside, sent down to invite him to come up and
ELIZA PINCKNEY
preach for them the next day. He did so, and
while on shore a terrible storm arose, in which
the ship, with every soul on board, was lost.
So clear a " leading " could not be neglected.
The congregation called him, and he proved (as
the Historical Sketch by a recent pastor, the
Rev. Mr. Misseldine, says) an acceptable and
useful pastor, '- living half a century, and found-
mg a numerous family and several churches."
This was in 1700, and the little Charles
Pinckney was too young to remember it, but
when the French admiral, M. Le Feboure,
made his famous attack on Carolina in 1707,
coming to get back the Province for the King
of Spain who claimed it as a part of Florida,
what an excitement for the boys ! The for-
tification (the embankment which was just
across the street) was to be strengthened, and
every man in the town was to be set to work
on it, and to learn how to manage the guns.
The governor, an old soldier, Sir Nathaniel
Johnson, came and went among them, and we
may be sure the boy went too.
Across the bay, within sight on James Island,
a little fort was being built. Fort Johnson,
which his own sons were to command in 1776 ;
rebels to the King, but true to the country.
Then the militia came in from the country
round, a band of friendly Indians among them,
80
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
and at last, after days of watching, " five
sei)aratc smokes" (says Ramsay) upon Sul-
livan's Island told that five French vessels
were off the bar. This is not a military history,
so it docs not tell the skirmishes and fights
which took place in the bay and on the islands
around, in which the forefathers of men who
have borne themselves bravely in many larger
wars, showed the stuff they were made of.
Providence and the stout English hearts fought
for Carolina that day, and 't was a fair foun-
dation for the love of country which was to be
so strong in Charles Pinckney and his sons,
that he should see that sight, and perhaps hear
the answer (for it was given in Granville Bas-
tion, not a stone's throw from his home) of Sir
Nathaniel, when the French envoy demanded a
surrender " allowing one hour for an answer."
The stout Englishman replied : —
" There is no occasion for one minute to
answer that message. I hold the town for the
Queen of England [Anne] and I can depend
upon my men who will sooner die than surren-
der. I am resolved to defend the place to the
last drop of my blood."
All the surrendering, one vessel striking her
flag without firing a shot, was done by the
invaders. Three hundred officers and men,
with a French general among them, were taken
6 81
ELIZA PINCKNEY
prisoners and " offered as ransom ten thousand
pieces of eight," — which has a delightful flavor
of Robinson Crusoe about it.
Ramsay (the chief autliority for the fore-
going account) gives a stanza from some
satirical verses made on this occasion, wliich
shows how the Huguenot settlers had by this
time become identified with their new home,
and how bitter, as has been said, were their
feelings towards France. The poet (probably
one of the garrison) makes the governor
say : —
"Que s'ils attaquaient uotre camp
lis y trouveraient bieii mille hommes,
Qui ne se Lattraieut pas de pommes,
Outre cinq cens Kofuges
Que la France a repudies,
Et rcduits pvesque a I'indigence
Qui ue respiraient que vengeance,
Ce qu'on leur ferait eprouvcr
S'ils osaieut nous venir trouver."
Quite as exciting must have been the war
with the pirates, who w^ere at this time the
greatest hindrance to the trade. These free-
booters held possession of the seas for years.
It must be confessed that the distinction be-
tween privateers and pirates was extremely
fine. When tlie sailors came on shore witli
their pockets full of gold, and rich pieces of
silk and satin to bestow ui)on their friends, all
THE riNCKNEY FAMILY
supposed to have been taken from the Spaniards,
or the French, they were privateers and gallant
fellows ! If the governors, spurred on to do
their duty by urgent orders from England, had
them brought to trial, there were always lawyers
clever enough to get them off. The Colony —
it was not the only one — suffered mucli dis-
credit by this winking at evil, which at last
went to such lengths that the Proprietors them-
selves, to gratify the people, granted an indem-
nity to all pirates " except such as had
committed depredations upon the dominions
of the Great Mogul ! "
This shameful proceeding met with its just
reward. The rice ships were a tempting spoil,
— the return vessels from Barbadoes or
Jamaica, loaded with rum and sugar more
tempting still, and were certainly not protected
by belonging to the Great Mogul. In four
years between thirty and forty vessels in the
Carolina trade w^ere taken on the coast. Some
few pirates were caught and hanged; (they were
pirates then, when they had touched British
vessels), but with the island of Providence to the
south, and the Cape Fear River in North Caro-
lina, for places of refuge, they defied pursuit.
Two men, Steed Bonnctt and Richard Worlcy,
were especially dreaded. They had established
themselves on the Cape Fear and might be
- 83
ELIZA PINCKNEY
said to blockade Charles Town harbor. Luckily
Governor Johnson, the son of Sir Nathaniel,
was, like his father, a man of spirit and resolu-
tion. He fitted out "a ship of Force" and
gave the command to Colonel William Rhett,
who had been vice admiral in the Le Feboure
war, and sent him to sea " to protect the Com-
merce." Rhett had hardly crossed tlie bar when
Bonnett hove in sight. Rhett immediately
made sail for him, and the pirate fled to his
stronghold in the Cape Fear. Rhett pursued,
captured Bonnett, his sloop of ten guns and
all his men, and brought them triumphantly
into Charles Town.
Thereupon the governor himself went to
sea, in search of the consort of six guns, com-
manded by Worley. Worley made a desperate
resistance, fighting his sloop until he himself
and one other man, both severely wounded,
were the only survivors. Governor Johnson
brought the sloop and the wounded men home
with him ; and " to prevent their dying of their
wounds" had them instantly tried, condemned,
and executed ! A savage proceeding, we should
say nowadays, but there was then a strong ob-
jection to a malefactor " cheating the gallows "
by any less disgraceful death.
Why a much longer and more formal shrift
should have been granted to Bonnett and his
84
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
crew docs not appear. They were tried, and
all but one condemned to death. Bennett, who
was a man of some education and manners,
had great hopes of a pardon ; he contrived to
make his escape from prison in female dress,
but was captured and brought back.
He wrote a letter of appeal to Rhett, pray-
ing him to intercede for him with the House of
Commons, and basing his claim to mercy on
the ground that he had spared many lives by
surrendering when he did. The letter is well
expressed, but blasphemous considering the
wretch from whom it came. He said that he
was sure, " if I had the happiness of a longer
life granted me in this world, that I shall
always retain and bear in mind, and endeavour
to follow those excellent precepts of our Holy
Saviour to love my neighbour as myself," etc.
Rhett and Johnson were men of too stern
a mould to believe in any such protests, and
Bennett and all his men — forty in all — were
hanged, and were buried on White Point, below
high-water mark. White Point is the extreme
southern end of the peninsula of Charleston.
The shoal has been filled up and now forms
the Battery Garden. The ladies and children
who assemble there on fine afternoons to walk
or play, little think that the bones of forty
pirates there " moulder deep below."
85
ELIZA PINCKNEY
This happy despatch was an immense relief
to the trade of the town, wdiich henceforth
flourished with only the legitimate drawbaclcs
of the long wars so often referred to.
Thomas Pinckney did not live to enjoy this
prosperity long. He made a fair fortune, but
died while his sons were still children. The Fam-
ily Legend has it, that, looking from his window
one day, he saw a handsome, gaily dressed
young man, landing from a West Indian vessel.
Calling to his wife he said, " Mary, that young
fellow will marry some poor fellow's widow,
spend her money and break her heart." The
first part of the prediction was fulfilled, for
when he himself died soon after, his widow
married the very man. The second was only
partly true, for though he did squander much
of her property, enough remained to educate and
provide for her sons. The heart was too tough
for even prophecy to effect it, for she lived to
marry a third time, and survived to a great
age, tenderly loved and tended by her chil-
dren.
The boys were, by their father's desire, sent
to England for their education. The eldest,
Thomas, who had inherited a landed property,
in Durham, entered the English army and
died, as a mourning ring shows, in 1733, aged
37. The second, Charles, was bred to the bar,
86
THE PINCKNEY FAMILY
and after bcini? adinittccl, married the daugh-
ter of Captain Jiaiiib, of Devonshire S(iiiare,
London. She was tlie Mrs. Pinckney Avho was
to make the matcli between lier husban<l and
Miss Lucas. The third son, WiUiam, held for
years the position of Commissioner in Equity.
At the time of his first wife's death Colonel
Pinckney was about forty-five years old. He
had been married for many years, and was
childless. He had accumulated a large fortune
at the bar, was a lawyer and planter. Speaker
of the House of Assembly, and a member of the
Royal Council of the Province. He had a
charming temi)cr and disposition, gay and
courteous manners, was well looking, well
educated, aijd of high religious principles. He
had in fact every qualification to make a young
wife happy, and how well he succeeded in
doing so her letters testify.
Perhaps, however, that which most influenced
the future course of the family, and the lives
of his sons, was the fact that he was a Caro-
linian born ; that his childish eyes had first
looked out on Charles Town bay, and that
among the first recollections of his boyhood,
must have been the defeat of Le Fc^boure by
the Provincials, and the proud words of the
old governor, '' I can trust my own men."
87
YI
EARLY MAERIED LIFE
1742-1747
In all this long correspondence there is not
one single love-letter. That such there were
we cannot doubt. The young lady was far too
*' fond of my pcnn " for it to be otherwise.
Perhaps she thought them too sacred to be
copied out ; or perhaps they were in that " other
book " which is sometimes alluded to, and
which is as lost to us as is the Book of Jasher
to the Israelites.
There are, however, a few notes, written
while as a bride she was still in her mother's
house (for she did not leave her mother while
the poor lady remained in Carolina), which are
so quaint in their formality that two are given
here. The first relates to the illness of Colonel
Pinckney's mother, to attend whom he had
evidently gone to town, leaving his bride at
Wappoo : —
Dear Sir, — I am sorry I had not the pleasure
of your company yesterday; but I am still more
88
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
concern'd at the cause of my disapointment. I
hope my mother is not in so weak a condition as
you imagine, and tliat it is only the fears of a
dutiful child, ever apprehensive of the worst makes
you think her so ill. May heaven j^reserve her,
and continue you longer an example of the strictest
filial duty and regard ; and give me an opportunity
of extending the aifection I have for you to y'. good
mother by using my best endeavours to soften
those cares and infirmitys, which usually attend
the decline of life and
may the tender office long engage
to rock the cradle of reposeing age,
"Nvitli lenient arts extend a parent's breath
make languor smile, and smooth a bed of death,
explore the thought, explain the asking eye
and save awhile one parent from the sky.
Pope
Instead of sending to know how my mother does
I should have come myself but am so much dis-
orderd with the head, I am not able to come down in
the heat of the day; if she is not better please to
lett me know and I will bo down early in the morn-
ing, till when and ever
I am
Dear Sir
Your affectionate
Eliza Pixcknet.
The second is as follows : —
^^I never give a loose to my ambition but when I
write to you. Then I confess I sett no bounds to
89
ELIZA PINCKNEY
my vanity, and desire not only to be the best scribe
in this part of the world, but to e(|ual even a
Cicero or Demosthenes that I might gain your
applause; but how wild is tlie desire, how fruitless
the wish in my hap])iest intervals; what then can
you expect when I have been just rideing six mile
in the heat of the sun, and am not able to fdl
half a page with what my own triffling genius
usually affords.
^' I can indeed tell you I have the greatest esteem
and affection imaginable for you; that next to Him
that form'd it, my heart is intirely at your dis-
posal, but this you knew the day I gave you my
hand; and as for news, you were the last that gave
me any intelligence of human affairs. Mr Gay
lias entertained us very agreeably on things of a
divine nature, but j^ou may not be inclined to hear
three sermons a day."
It will be observed that Mrs. Pinckney takes
it for granted that her husband has been to
church twice already that day. Mr. Gay
must have been preaching that hot Sun-
day morning at St. Andrew's, the parish
church, on the river road. He was one of the
first clergymen sent out by the Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel, to supply the
churches in South Carolina, after the "Estab-
lishment" in 1706. It is curious to think that
a hundred and fifty years ago, churches in this
country were maintained by this society, as
90
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
mission stations in New Zealand or South
Africa arc to-day.
It was after the " Establishment " that the
ten country cl lurches were built, — all of them
within sixty miles of the coast, for the upper
part of the Province was much in the condition
of the Highlands in the " '45," when " Sunday
seldom came abune the pass of Ballybrough."
Besides these notes to her husband, the new
Mrs. Pinckney wrote to her different friends ;
she was, although troubled at parting with her
family, beamingly happy, and she did not con-
ceal her happiness. The first letter is of course
to her father : —
" HoND Sir : — Since I last payl my duty to you,
I have pursuant to your advice as well as my own
inclination, enterd into a new state of Life; it
gives me all imaginable satisfaction to know that I
have the approbation of the tenderest of Parents,
and that of all my friends and acquaintance of my
choice. I do assure you Sir that tho I think Mr
Pinckney's character and merrit are sufficient to
engage the esteem of any lady acquainted with
him the leaving you at such a distance was an
objection I could not easily get over; but when I
considered that Providence might by some means
or other bring us together again, and that it must
be a great satisfaction to you as well as to myself,
to know that I have put myself into the bauds of a
91
ELIZA PINCKNEY
man of lionour, wlioes good sense and sweetness of
disposition gives me a prospect of a liappy life, I
thought it prudent, as well as intirely agreeable to
niee, to accept the offer; and I shall make it the
whole Study of my Life to fix that esteem and affec-
tion Mr. Finckney has professd for me, and con-
siquently he more worthily your daughter '^ . . .
Next is a letter to a young lady of whom
Miss Lucas had been very fond as a girl in
England. The friends had lost sight of each
other, until, not long before the marriage,
a message from the former Miss Martin had
reached Miss Lucas through their governess
Mrs. Pearson. Miss Martin was now the wife
of Sir Nicholas Carew, of Bcddington, Surrey,
and there is a letter to her, begun as Miss
Lucas and finished as Mrs. Pinckney. The
postscript (the most important part) says : —
''P. S. Since the foregoing which has been
wrote and laid b}^ several months, for want of a
proper opportunity, I have changed my condi-
tion in Life, which occations my continuing in
Carolina.
^^ You will be apt to ask me, dear Lady Carew,
how I could leave a tender and aiFectionate Father,
Mother, Brother and Sister to live in a strange
country, but I flatter myself if you knew the
Character and Merrit of the Gentleman I have
made Choice of, (he is a Gentleman of the Law,
92
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
and one of his Majesty's Council) you would think
it less strange, especially as it was with the appro-
bation of all my friends.
^'Mr. Finckney intends to bring me to England
in a year or two, where one of the greatest pleas-
ures I promise myself is telling you in person how
much I am '' etc., etc.
Henceforth the correspondence with this
lady is frequent and confidential ; but perhaps
the prettiest of all these joyous notes is one to
Miss Fayrweather : —
*' I am sure you will pardon me my dear Cousin
tho I have not acknowledge^ the receipt of your
letter by Mr Symons and thanked you for the
barberrys (which were very good) when you con-
sider I have had so weighty a matter upon my
hands as that of matrimony. I see you smile and
wonder, that difficult girl (that's y~ phrase) ever
married, that filled her own head, and was always
preaching up to you the great Importance of a
matter; of wch. the generality of people make so
light. Nay, you did not scruple telling me I
should never get a man to answer my plan, and
must therefore dye an old maid.
*'But you are mistaken. I am married and
the gentleman I have made choice of comes up to
my plan in every title. But jesting aside, 'tis my
dear fann}", a nice affair, for if we happen to
judge wrong and are unequally match'd there is
93
ELIZA PIN CRN EY
an end of all human felicity, for as Doc*- Watts
says
As well may Heavenly concert spring
from two old lutes without a string
or none beside the bass.
^' How careful then ought we to be, . . . when
I tell you, tis Mr Pinckney I have married you
will think I do him barely justice when I say his
good Seuce and Judgemeut, his extraordinary good
nature and evenness of temper joynd to a most
agreeable conversation and many valuable qualifi-
cations gives me the most agreeable prospect in
the world. . . . Mr Pinckney desires to b>e re-
membered to you, and in case we have a peace we
hope to see you here; he also desires me to tell
you whenever you make a vizet to Carolina, he
hopes you will make our house your home. Pray
make my compliments " etc.
To the Bartletts, the sister and niece of the
first Mrs Pinckney, "my predecessor," she is
at first a little formal.
To Mrs Bartlett.
Mad'.V, — As I have succeeded your good sister
with whom I had the happiness of an intimate
acquaintance of some years, and I flatter myself a
very great degree of her affection and friendship,
I take the liberty to pay my respects to you, though
I have not the pleasure to be personally acquainted
with you.
I am conscious Mad".^ how unworthy I am to
94
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
supply the place of so good a wife as your sister
was, but at the same time I must beg leave to
assure you that however short of her I may come
in other matters in one thing I shall equal her;
viz.*, a due regard to her relations and a readiness
to do everytliing in my power to serve them. I
shall be very glad of a correspondence with one
so nearly related to my deceased friend as Mrs
Bartlett, and shall look upon it as a particular
obligation done me if agreeable to you.
Mr P. thought he had sent home everything of
value belonging to your Sister, but I find a very
good suit of laced linning [linen] and a velvet
scarf, was forgot wch. I now send; also a brown
taffety gownd begun to be quilted, w*'.^ I shall
endeavour to get finished, in time to send you
with this by Cap.. White. Pray pay my compli-
ments to Miss Bartlett and deliver her the inclosed.
I am
Madam
Your most obedient Servant
Eliza Pinckney.
An attack on her husband soon roused the
young wife to animation. A malicious story
had been told to Mrs. Bartlett by a person
going from Cliarles Town to London, that her
sister had been neglected in her last illness.
It is pretty to see the indignant scorn with
which her friend and successor repels the
charge. She writes to Miss Bartlett : —
95
ELIZA PINCKNEY
*^I am a good deal surprized at the ridiculoiig
story you mention from Mrs G., as it has so little
the appearance of probability, indeed she was in
the right if she had any view of telling such a
story, to do it out of Carolina, and to peo]3le quite
unacquainted with Mr Pinckney's character; had
I not known him to have been the best of husbands,
I had not been in the relation I now am to him.''
Then follow some details of illness, and she
adds : —
*^I am sorry Mrs G. has given herself any
unbecoming airs about you, but am more so to hear
you express so much concern at it, for you can
never think people of sence and penetration can
ever regard what such a tatling woman says, that
seems to study and love mischief for no other reason
but to gratify an envious malicious temper or a
tatling gossiping one, ... I daresay you never
in the least injured her, . . . and Mr P. has
always been a friend to her; but I thank God his
character is too well and too deservedly established,
to receive any hurt from her, tho' she may show
her good will towards it."
The Bartletts evidently paid no attention to
the story, and the next letter shows the old
custom of giving gloves at a wedding (or
funeral). Their relations always continued
kind and friendly.
96
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
To Miss Bartlett.
The compliment of a p.! of gloves on a wedding
T sliould have beg^ your acceptance of in Season,
had I had an opportunity, and therefore hope you
will excuse it coming late ;
Mr. Garden will be so good as to deliver you a
couple of guineas for a pair of gloves for you and
Mrs Bartlett.
All this time (from May to July) Eliza's
mother, Mrs. Lucas, was waiting for a vessel to
take her to Antigua. The poor lady had not
only to break up her establishment in Carolina,
part with the daughter who had so long been
head and hands to her, and endure the voyage,
but there was cruel anxiety as to the condi-
tion in which her younger son would reach
Antigua.
She was detained, the " brigg " (sad substi-
tute for the man-of-war for which she had
hoped) being kept until July. Mrs, Pinckney
wrote by the same vessel to her father that
his agent had withdrawn from business, and
that —
^' Mr. Pinckney desires me to tell you that not-
withstanding his own affairs require so much of
his attention as they do, he will with pleasure do
anything in his power to serve you, and if yow. will
send him a power, he will comply with your re-
7 97
ELIZA PINCKNEY
quest, and manage your affairs in the best manner
he can.
" An Embargo laid on the Shiping here, has de-
tained my Mama and Brother these two days, but
having no further account of an Invation, (which
was talked of when the Embargo was laid on,) it
was taken off yesterda}^ . . .
*^I should now send you my Plantation accounts
but my Mama going tomorrow, Mr Pinckney's
mother being dangerously ill, and I but just come
home obliges me to defer it. . . ."
Not for some months more did news of their
arrival, after a " dismal passage,'* reach Caro-
lina. The seas surrounding those summer isles
of Eden are apt to be rough in August and
September, and the party in the merchant brig
had suffered terribly. Tom had arrived, but
Governor Lucas wrote to his son-in-law : —
My son Tommy lately arrived here from Lon-
don in a very low and weak Condition, & as he was
given over by the Physitians, I have put him under
a French Gentleman's direction, who has wrought
surprizing things on some Persons here under the
same Distemper, so I have from him still some
hopes of a Cure. He tells me he wants Artichoak
roots as an Ingredient in a Tysan He uses, I must
therefore pray you will procure and send me ten or
a Doz° pounds of them, dryed out of the Sun, and
send them by the first Yessell. . . .
98
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
My wife, Polly and poor Tommy joyn with
Love and Blessing to you and my Dear Daughter &
I am Dear Sir
Y.' most affectionate Father
& 6h^} HumHl*^ Servant
Geo. Lucas
P. S. Pray accept the Compliments of the Season
Antigua Decern r. 24*.'3 1744
To the Hon^}? Charles PincTcney.
Governor Lucas was evidently displeased
that the boy had been kept so long in England,
for his daughter writes to appease his wrath : —
^'I am sorry you apprehend any unkindness in
his being kept so long in England, for surely Sir, our
friends there must have done it for the best, though
they have mistaken it."
In the same letter she says : —
" I have according to your desire got all the
drugs I could gett here, and may heaven give you
success in the application and make them effectual.
'' There is no such thing imported as fumaric or
fumitory, but every thing else I have got ; viz^
''Sl^'Sarsparilla
1 " Aristolochia
3 '* Koman Allom
^ Sweet Mercury
Artichoak roots dryd as directed."
99
ELIZA PINCKNEY
One would hardly care to venture on a tisane
of the above ingredients ; but the French
gentleman's remedies proved beneficial, for
Tommy improved and lived for years, although
— perhaps because — a thousand miles of
storm-tossed ocean lay between him and his
apothecary.
Governor Lucas must have had some misgiv-
ings lest his managing daughter should attempt
to be also a managing wife, and must have given
a hint to that effect, for there is an amusing
touch of proud humility in her reply : —
^^ I am greatly obliged to 3^011 for your very good
advice in my present happy relation. I think it
entirely reasonable, and 'tis with great truth that
I assure you t'is not more my duty than my incli-
nation to follow it; for making it the business of my
life to please a man of Mr Pinckney's merrit even
in triffles, I esteem a pleasing task: and I am well
asured the acting out of my proper province and
invading his, would be an inexcusable breach of pru-
dence ; as his superionr understanding, (without any
other consideration,) would point him to dictate,
and leave me nothing but the easy task of obeying/'
These be fine words ; but luckily husband
and wife seem to have had a thoroughly happy
sense of each other's powers and intentions, and
nothing approaching " dictation " or invasion
of rights is anywhere perceptible.
100
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
By the same vessel she wrote to her mother :
*^T\vo days after you sailed we came to Belmont,
M'here we often wished to enjoy your Company in a
state of tranquillity, a state we so long before had
been almost strangers to. We have spent the sum-
mer here very agreably without being (what you
seemed to apprehend) at all lonesome, for my dear
Mr Pinckney (whose humanity none can be a
stranger to that know him) has never left me but
one day in the week since I have been here.
^^Mrs Woodward went up with Mrs Hutson
soon after you left us and has not been in town
since, '^ etc., etc.
At this place, Belmont, about five miles from
Charles Town, a great deal of Mrs. Pinckney's
future life was to be spent. It was a delightful
residence, a large brick house, standing, as most
of the country houses did, a few hundred yards
from the water's edge, on a semicircular head-
land making out into a bold creek, a branch of
the Cooper River. The view was remarkably
extensive, almost to the harbor bar on the
right, and far up the broad stream on the left,
while in front the river at high water resembled
a lake in its expanse ; and in its wide sweep
and low-lying shores, gave all the charm of
wide horizons.
Here Mrs. Pinckney was perfectly happy,
busy with congenial, interesting occupations, a
101
ELIZA PINCKNEY
cultivated and sympathetic husband at her side,
and friends within easy reach. Here she gave
the rein to her taste for planting trees, for this
she expected to be her home for life ; at Wappoo
there had always been the dread of a return to
Antigua to discourage her. She planted not
only the trees of the country, oak, magnolia,
etc., but foreign species, trying which she could
acclimatize ; assisted and encouraged in her
work by Dr. Garden, the earliest of Carolinian
botanists, whose name comes down to us with
a sweet savor, in the exquisite " Gardenia,"
named in his honor by his friend and corre-
spondent Linnaeus. She also continued to
superintend her father's plantation affairs,
in wdiich Colonel Pinckney gave her great
help.
■^^ Indigo, of which notliing has been said for
some time (it being most convenient to give
the whole story at once) was now being made
in considerable quantities. The cultivation of
this plant is an exceedingly nice one, requiring
careful preparation of the soil, and much atten-
tion during its growth ; and the preparation for
market is long and critical. The leaves must
be cut at just the right moment, not too early,
for then the color will be poor, or too late,
for that will injure both quality and quantity.
The leaves when cut are soaked in vats until
102
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
they ferment, frotli, and give up tlieir coloring
matter. The great art is to let this fermenta-
tion go on just long enough to get the right
color. The liquid is then drawn off into a
second vat clear of the leaves, where it is beaten
with paddles until it begins to thicken ; it is
then led into a third vat and allowed to settle,
when the clear water is drawn off. The sedi-
ment is formed into lumps or cakes, and after
being carefully dried in the shade it is ready
for sale.
It will be readily seen that all this required
care and skill. While the fermentation is
going on (a period of several days), it is watched
night and day by relays of hands, and the
head man, the " Indigo Maker," never leaves
it. For this important position Governor
Lucas sent out an overseer from the island of
Montserrat, named Cromwell. He understood
the processes, and built brick vats ; but to Miss
Lucas's horror, the " lumps " which he pro-
duced were of such inferior quality as to be
almost worthless.
He asserted that this w^as due to the climate.
She, by close watching and careful experiment,
found that he was mistaken, and found also
where the fault lay. She dismissed Cromwell,
and put his brother in his place, who was at
first more successful.
103
ELIZA PINCKNEY
With true patriotism Miss Lucas devoted her
whole crop of 1744 to making seed, for one
great difficulty had been that she could not get
the seed from the East Indies in time for the
crop to ripen before a frost. This home-made
seed she distributed as gifts to those planters
who would undertake to try it. This was
really liberal as the price of seed continued
very high for years, as the following bill, four-
teen years later, shows : —
Mr Jacob Motte Jr
1758 D.l to EoBERTSON & Baillie
May 10. 8 bushels Indigo Seed at £10 £80
Keceived in full
KoBERTsoN & Baillie.
By this gift many planters were induced to
try the new plant. Some of the Huguenots
who had seen the plant in France, and espe-
cially Mr. Deveaux, already mentioned, were
very successful in the preparation. As early as
1744, a few months after her marriage, Mrs.
Pinckney wrote to her father : —
*^ We hear they have at Garden Hill the prospect
of a very good crop; we gave particular orders to
Murray about the seed which I am still in hopes
will prove a valuable commodity.
^'Out of a small patch of Indigo growing at
104
EARLY MARRIED LIFE
Wappoo, (which Mama made a present to Mr P:)
the Brother of jS"icholass Cromwell besides saving a
quantity of Seed, made us 17 pounds of very good
Indigo, so different from N-C's, that we are con-
vinced he was a mere bungler at it. Mr Deveaux
has made some likewise, and the people in genA
very sanguine about it. Mr P. sent to England
by the last man of warr 6 pounds to try how t'is
aproved of there. If it is I hope we shall have a
bounty from home, we have already a bounty of
6^ currancy from this province upon it. We please
ourselves with the prospect of exporting in a few
years a good quantity from hence, and supplying
our Mother Country with a manifacture for w"-^
she has so great a demand, and which she is now
suppl3'd with from the French Collonys, and many
thousand pounds per annum thereby lost to the
nation, when she might as well be supplyd here,
if the matter was applyd to in earnest.''
There are several letters from Governor
Lucas on the subject; in some he suggests
that the brick vats may be the cause of trouble,
and that wood had better be tried. The truth
was that the Cromwells were traitors. They
purposely spoiled the " lumps," not choosing
that the Carolina product should interfere with
that of their native island of Montserrat. Gov-
ernor Lucas then sent out a negro from one of
the French islands, and soon the battle was
won.
105
ELIZA PINCKNEY
In 1747 enough was made to make it worth
while to export it to England for sale. Great
Britain immediately offered a bounty of six-
pence a pound, in order to exclude the French
indigo from her markets. It is said that while
this was paid the planters doubled their capital
every three or four years.
The first free school in the Province, outside
of Charles Town was established in 1753 by
the planters of Georgetown, who, to commemo-
rate the source of their wealth, formed them-
selves into a society called the " Winyah Indigo
Society," at first merely a social club. The
school, handsomely endowed and supported,
survived the Revolution, and continued to 1865
in great activity and usefulness. Hundreds of
children have had cause to bless the jolly
indigo planters, whose descendants, shorn of
their wealth, still keep the name Independent
Charity School for the Poor, and, according to
their means, still support the school.
Indigo continued the chief highland staple
of the country for more than thirty years.
After the Revolution it was again cultivated,
but the loss of the British bounty, the rivalry
of the East Indies with their cheaper labor,
and the easier cultivation of cotton, all con-
tributed to its abandonment about the end of
the century. Just before the Revolution the
106
EARLY MAUniED LIFE
annual export amounted to the enormous
quantity of one million, one hundred and seven
thousand, six hundred and sixty pounds !
When will any " New Woman " do more for
her country ?
107
VII
MOTHERHOOD
1745-1748
Long before the happy solution of the indigo
question, in February, 1745, a little son was
born to Colonel and Mrs. Pinckney. There
had been some talk of her going to her mother
in Antigua, but it was thought inexpedient,
and Governor Lucas wrote to his son-in-law : —
**I should have received great pleasure & happi-
ness in yours & my Dear Daughter's company but
as that at this time is Impracticable I must be
content with my constant prayers for j^our Healths
. . . neither Her Mama nor I have the least
room to Doubt of yl utmost care & tenderness of
Her, but on the Contrary have great Reason to
Ke Joyce at her situation, & I assure you Sir, I have
a just sence of the Blessing Providence has be-
stowed on me in your Alliance.
^'The hopes j^ou have of Mrs Woodward's Com-
pany is a great addition to our satisfaction, & I
pray you will make mine, & all My Family's best
acknowledgements and Respects acceptable to her
& her Family, My wife always expresses the
108
MOTHERHOOD
warmest sentiments of her Friendship and duely
retains the memory of her agreable neighbour-
hood. ... I send you a kegg of green sweet-
meats, & my wife sends my dear Child a pott of
Ginger, a few pines & Cains, [sugar cane ?] &, if
I can gett it on board in time, a b.l or two bottled
Sweet wine & Perry & Cyder. . . .
^'My wife writes to you by this conveyance.
We are both now under great anxiety and pain for
our Dear Daughter's welfare, but hope before this
reaches you our Prayers will be heard, & she in
Safety, than which nothing this side the Grave,
can be more Joyfull to hear.''
The prayers were heard, and the young mother
wrote joyfully to Miss Bar tie tt : —
^' Since my last Heaven has blessed us with a fine
little boy, and would you think it ? I could flatter
myself so much as to believe I can discover all his
Papa's virtues already dawning in him or would
you imagine I could really be so fond a Mama so
soon of a little babe of three months old, that I
could go on to describe his fine black Eyes with a
thousand beauties more till I filled my paper &
tired you. ... I thank God I have no disorder
but weakness, and I hope the Country air into
w'^^ I am going will be a remedy for that. We
have been threatened with an Indian warr, but I
hope 'tis blown over.
*']\rr P. joyns me in love to INIrs. B. in w*^.!* I
should joyn our little Charles could he but lisp it."
109
ELIZA PINCKNEY
The little boy had been born, not at Belmont
but in the house which his father had built some
years before, and which he always called his
" Mansion House." It stood (until the great
fire of 1862) upon East Bay, half a square
above Market Street. Colonel Pinckney owned
much land in that neighborhood, and indeed
the present market stands upon ground granted
by his granddaughters to the city, " for that
purpose only ; " but in 1745 Market Street
was still a swampy creek.
This house may be described here as having
been a fine example of Colonial architecture.
Only one such still exists in Charleston; that
built a few years later, in the lower part of
King Street, by Miles Brewton, which now be-
longs to his collateral descendant. Miss Pringle.
That is known to have cost X8000 ; from which
we can judge the cost of Colonel Pinckney's,
for they were much alike. Forty thousand dol-
lars was a great sum in those modest days.
The lot occupied the whole square from
Market to Guignard Streets, on the western
side of East Bay. The house stood in the
centre, facing east to the water, and the ground
across the street, down to the water's edge, also
belonging to the family, was never built upon,
but kept open for air and for the view. It was
of small, dark, English brick, with stone copings,
no
MOTHERnOOD
and stood on a basement containing kitchens
and offices. It had, besides the basement, two
stories, witli high slated roof, in which were
wine and himber rooms. From the front to
the back door was a wide flagged hall, into
which four large rooms opened ; dining-room
and bedroom to the south, library and house-
keeper's room to the north. These two last
were not as large as the southern rooms, for
the staircase, partly accommodated by a projec-
tion on the north side of the house, came down
into a kind of side hall between them. The
window on this staircase (one of the most re-
markable features of the house) was very
beautiful, of three arches with heavily carved
frames, and a deep window-seat extending the
whole length of the landing-place. On the
second story were five rooms ; the large and
small drawing-rooms occupying the whole east
front of the house, the large one a very hand-
some room, over thirty feet long, with high coved
ceiling and heavy cornice, beautifully propor-
tioned. At the back were bedrooms, and the
staircase went on to the garrets above.
The whole house was wainscoted in the
heaviest panelling, the windows and doors with
deep projecting pediments and mouldings in
the style of Chamberlayne. The mantel-pieces
were vei'y high and narrow, with fronts carved
111
ELIZA PINCKNEY
in processions of shepherds and shepherdesses,
cupids, etc., and had square frames in the pan-
elling above, to be filled with pictures.
This house differed from those of later date
in Carolina, by having the kitchen and offices
in the basement, — an almost unknown thing
there in after years, — and in the absence of
extensive piazzas. In front there was only a
high flight of stone steps with a small canopied
porch, at the back a small piazza on the first
floor only. A little way off, along the north-
ern edge of the lot, was a long row of build-
ings, servants' rooms in great number, stables,
coach-house, etc. A vegetable garden was at
the back, and grass plats with flower beds filled
the southern part of the lot, one of the largest
in the town.
Of the plenishing of this handsome and
convenient residence we know little. Mrs.
Pinckney's mind does not seem to have dwelt
on furniture or bric-a-brac. We know that
Colonel Pinckney had what was then esteemed
a fine library, a few books of which remain.
There are one or two pieces of plate, solid and
plain, a little India china, — tiny cups, and
high-shouldered vases, — and a very few old-
fashioned pieces of jewelry. Yery few things
escaped the Revolution, but we may suppose that
the furnishing was comformable to the house
112
MOTHERHOOD
itself, and now and then there are hints of some
article of comfort or elegance, as " re".'' a Marcels
[Marseilles] bed and canopy cost 20 guineas."
Mrs. Pinckney's real passions were garden-
ing and reading, and one can but smile at the
haste to educate the new baby : —
To Mrs. Bartlett.
Dear Madam, — It would be unpardonable to omit
paying my duty to you by so good an opportunity as
Mr Commissary Garden, a Gen'?? who has been
Rector of C^^* Town twentj'^-six years, and whose
conduct has gained him universal Esteem. He
comes to Europe for his Health, and I am sure will
deliver you this if 'tis in his power [that is, if Mr.
Commissary were not captured on the voyagej
and I Hatter myself will return me one by Xmas
next from you. Since MrP's last to Mr B. Heaven
has blest us with a son, and a fine boy it is ! May
he inherit all his father's virtues, his good Sence,
his sincere and generous mind, with all his sweet-
ness of disposition. Shall I give you the trouble
my dear Mad"! to buy him the new toy (a discrip-
tion of w*^^ I inclose) to teach him according to Mr
Lock's method (w*:!^ I have carefully studied) to
play himself into learning. Mr Pinckney himself
has been contriving a sett of toys to teach him his
letters by the time he can speak, you perceive we
begin by times for he is not yet four months old.
My Pinckney desires his compliments etc etc
May 20"? 1745.
8 113
ELIZA PINCKNEY
The toy seems to have been a success, for
next year she writes to her sister Polly, then at
school in England, —
' Your little nephew not yet two and twenty
months old prattles very intelligibly, he gives his
duty to 3^ou and thanks for the toys and desires me
to tell his aunt Polly if she don't take care and a
great deal of pains in her learning, he will soon he
the best scholar, for he can tell all his letters in
any book without hesitation, and begins to spell
before he is two year old. He begs you will
accept of a moidore and a dollar out of his own
mony to buy you some fruit at school, w':!^ I now
send by Mr Pringle who will deliver you this.
Mr Pinckne}^ is gone to his Estate at the South-
ward or I know he would have made an addition
to his son's present. Use all your diligence my
dear Polly in improving yourself, which will be a
singular pleasure to all your friends and particu-
larly to . . ."
It is a comfort to know that this pre-
cocious infant took no harm ; but the Family
Legend which duly records his cleverness,
says that in after life (he became General
Charles Cotcsworth Pinckncy) he always de-
clared this early teaching to have been sad
stuff, and that by haste to make him a clever
fellow he had nearly become a very stupid one.
Also, it says that he never allowed his own
114
MOTHERHOOD
children to be taught until they had attained a
reasonable age. /
Motherhood brings graver thoughts than even
spelling blocks and primers; and to this period
belong a series of "Resolutions/^ found only
very lately, in a little roll of sadly tattered
papers, marked, " papers belonging to myself
onely," and " if there is any mony with this when
I dye 'tis to be given to the poor distressed."
In the same roll are a number of private
prayers ; some written upon many successive
birthdays from youth to age, each renewing the
solemn vows of devotion and submission made
in the first ; others offered upon especial occa-
sions of joy or sorrow ; never failing to " thank
God in her weal or seek him in her woe ; " all
breathing the same spirit of religion, truly but
privately lifting her soul to God.
Such outpourings of the spirit are not for the
public eye, but the " Resolutions," Avhich belong
to the sphere of practical piety, are given, to
show the faith and views of duty of the
southern woman of the day. They begin
abruptly :
I am rosolved by the Grace of God asisting me
to keep these resolutions which I have frequently
made, and do now again renew.
I am rosolved to believe in God; that he U, and
115
ELIZA PINCKNEY
is a rewarder of all that diligently seek him. To be-
lieve firml^^ and constantly in all his attribntes etc.
etc. I am resolved to believe iu him, to fear him
and love him with all the powers and faculties of
my soul. To keep a steady eye to his commands,
and to govern myself in every circumstance of life
by the rules of the Gospel of Christ, whose disciple
I profess myself, and as such will live and dye.
I am resolved by the Divine will, not to be
anxious or doubtful, not to be fearful of any acci-
dent or misfortune that may happen to me or mine,
not to regard the frowns of the world, but to keep
a steady upright conduct before m}^ God, and before
man, doing m^' duty and contented to leave the
event to God's Providence.
I am resolved by the same Grace to govern my
passions, to endeavour constantly to subdue every
vice and improve in every virtue, and in order to
this I will not give way to any the least notions of
pride, haughtiness, ambition, ostentation, or con-
tempt of others. I will not give wa^^ to Env}^, 111
will, Evil speaking, ingratitude, or uncharitable-
ness in word, in thought, or in deed, or to passion
or peavishness, nor to Sloath or Idleness, but to en-
deavour after all the contrary Virtues, humility,
charity, etc, etc, and to be alwaj's usefully or inno-
cently imploy'd.
I am resolved not to be luxurious or extravagant
in the management of my table and family on
the one hand, nor niggardly and covetous, or too
anxiously conceru'd about it on the other, but to
116
MOTHERHOOD
endeavour after a due medium; to manage with
hospitality and Generosity as much as is in our
power, to have always 2)leuty with frugality and
good Economy.
To he decent hut frugal in my own Expences.
To he charitahly disposed to all mankind.
I am resolved hy the Divine Assistance to lill the
several Stations wherein Providence has placed me
to the hest advantage.
To make a good wife to my dear Hushand in all
its several branches; to make all my actions Cor-
rispond with that sincere love and Duty I hear
him. To pray for him, to contribute all in my
power to the good of his Soul and to the peace and
satisfaction of his mind, to he careful of his Health,
of his Interests, of his children, and of his Eeputa-
tion; to do him all the good in m}^ power ; and next
to ray God, to make it my Study to please him.
I am resolved to make a good child to my Mother;
to do all I am able to give her comfort and make
her happy.
I am resolved to be a good Mother to my children,
to pray for them, to set them good examples, to
give them good advice, to be careful both of their
souls and bodys, to watch over their tender minds,
to carefully root out the first appearing and budings
of vice, aud to instill piety. Virtue and true reli-
gion into them; to spair no paines or trouble to do
them good; to correct their Errors whatever un-
easiness it may give myself; and never omit to
encourage every Virtue I may see dawning in them,
117
ELIZA PINCKNEY
I am resolved to make a good Sister both to my
own and my Husband's brothers and sisters, to do
them all the good I can, to treat them with affec-
tion, kindness, and good-manners^ to do them all
the good I can etc, etc.
I am resolved to make a good Mistress to my
Servants, to treat them with humanity and good
nature; to give them sufhcient and comfortable
clothing and Provisions, and all things necessary
for them. To be careful and tender of them in
their sickness, to reprove them for tlieir faults, to
Encourage them when they do well, and pass over
small faults; not to be tyrannical peavish or im-
patient towards them, but to make tlieir lives as
comfortable as I can.
I am resolved to be a sincere and faithful friend
wherever I professed it, and as much as in me lies
an agreable and innocent companion, and a uni-
versal lover of all mankind.
All these resolutions by God's assistance I will
keep to my life's end.
So help me 0 My God ! Amen.
Eead over this dayly to assist my memoiy as to
every particular contained in this paper. Mem.
Before I leave my Chamber recolect in Genl. the
business to be done that day.
No human being probably ever succeeded
in being and doing all this ; but the " dayly "
118
MOTIIERnOOD
conning over of such purposes must at least
liave prevented many of those faults of thought-
lessness and self-indulgence, which make so
much of the misery of life. The Scotch ju'o-
verb says, " Aim at a gown of gold and you'll
get a sleeve of it," and the story of Mrs. Pinck-
ncy's life shows that her sleeve was a large
one.
At this time there is a correspondence be-
tween Governor Lucas and Colonel Pinckney,
illustrating some of the difficulties with which
tlic Colonists had to contend. One of these
was the depreciation of their money.
The Province had gone to war largely at its
own cost, and Indians, Florida expeditions, etc.,
had made that cost heavy. To meet these
expenses it had issued paper money ; thence
came the usual train of evils. Sterling was of
course the standard in all British dominions
but English coins were scai'ce, and the Spanish
and French were of varying values in the dif-
ferent provinces.
Queen Anne had issued a proclamation, fix-
ing the value of the pistoles, do'ubloons, etc., at
the same rate in all the colonies. The tor-
mented people had to keep constantly in mind
whether they were buying and selling by ster-
ling, proclamation money, or currency. Cur-
rency, the paper of the Colony itself, was some-
119
ELIZA PINCKNEY
times as low as ten pounds of the bills for one
pound sterling, but the average value was seven
for one. Proclamation money, used for inter-
colonial trafiic, fines, etc., was at the rate of
one for five.
It seems remarkable that business went on
at all. The trouble entered into every detail
of life ; hardly a letter or note of Miss Lucas
to her father failed to mention " our exchange
is now seven to one ; " " there is now a fall
in bills of exchange," etc. At this time, 1745,
things seem to have been particularly bad ;
the war kept the rates of freight very high, and
as the exports of Carolina were bulky articles
the planters suffered. Mrs. Pinckney wrote
that " linning " and things of that sort were
" excessive dear," and that " Mr. Murray has
sent down 50- rice and 100*- tarr w'^-^ is applyd
to pay off part of the plantation expences and
delivered to Messrs Shubrick. Tis a melon-
choly time with the poor planters, those that
are in debt have no hopes of extricating them-
selves, for rice was never so low as now,
tis at 15' ready money and 20! hhd, the pay-
ment of debts." In one letter Governor Lucas
actually says that the cultivation of rice will
probably be abandoned, it had become so
unprofitable.
One letter shows a scheme for owning a ves-
120
MOTHERHOOD
sel to be freighted each way with the products
of their own phintations ; the rice, kimber, etc.,
of Carolina, to be exchanged for the rinn, sugar,
and coffee of the West Indies. Colonel Pinck-
ney had proposed this plan and Governor Lucas
answers. These letters, it may be observed,
are written in the most beautiful flowing hand,
upon heavy gilt-edged paper, and the only word
very peculiarly spelled is " Ruff-Rice ! "
GovL Lucas to Col. Pinckney
I observe the uncertainty of getting the Eice to
market, & I approve of the method you propose in
storing it for aConveniency of Shipping, which ere
now I hope you have mett with in the schooner
Charming Nancy mentioned in my last.
I take notice you say the Ruff rice is at 2^ per
busliell & if the Clean was but at [illegible] Procla-
mation Money per Ton, the whole would amount but
to £ 59-6-8. whereas the Bill of Lading mentions
£ 61. The Extravagance of Freight takes up a
great part of the Produce, and inclines me to
Pursue the Scheme you mention of my being con-
cerned in a Yessell, but I have not yett had an
opportunity to consult Cap*. Grant, thereon, «& if
he would hold a part, & yow will hold a third, I
will take the first opportunity of purchasing one
of the burthen you recommend. My own Experi-
ence convinces me of the Unprofitableness of
Vessells in common; but as we are both planters
& Freight is now in Time of Warr at so high a
121
ELIZA PINCKNEY
rate, it must turn out advantageous in a certain
conveniency of exporting our heavy produce, & what
will be beneficial to me, must be so to jow, as you
will not be in merch*^? hands and liable to the
delays and expences incident to Trade. Besides
from my Interests and Friendships here, I can be
instrumental in Freight from this Island, w^^.l^ is
not commonly mett with. ... I have computed
the amount of the Clean rice at 15 per c-, & the
E-uff at 5* per bushel & find I shall gain upon the
whole above a hundred pounds Carolina Currency
besides paying freight & insurance, w*"- is consid-
erable upon about a hundred «& eighty odd pounds,
your money.
If I purchase a Vessell it will be necessary to
have boards and staves and shingles, ready to give
her despatch when grain is not to be had, & in
order thereto you will please to order such Lumber
to be sett about shortly.
Ill another letter Governor Lucas refers to
a mortgage on liis Carolina property which he
hopes soon to pay off, and also directs frames
for negro houses and planks to be got out at
Garden Hill to be sent to Antigua, and a
" pettiauger " or canoe, all showing the scarcity
of wood in the islands. He continues : —
*^ We have been greatly Allarmed for about Two
Months past at the arrival of Mons. Caylus, with
a large squadron of Men of Warr, & some regular
122
MOTIIERIIOOD
Troops, Intended to invade us from Martinique,
during w*^- time Gen J. Mathevv remained at S.'.
Christopliers & left me the Defence of this Island,
in providing for w*^- I have spared no Pains, & I
tliink we may now say, we have Sanguine hopes of
Eepulsing any attempt they can make. His Ex'rf
arrived some days ago and we have now a Rein-
forcement of Men of Warr, which I hope will
enable our little Squadron to look abroad. Tliey
have been for some time shut up in English
Harbour, The Fleet arrived but yesterday, so I am
not yet particularl}^ Informed of their Strength. . .
Tlie Assembly has made no Settlement on me, nor
can I Expect it, when I consider they gave my
Predecessor Gov- Byam no Settlement, whose
Superior Merit seemed more to claim it, Tho' I
have the pleasure to say the People have generally
Approved my Conduct, since I have had the Honour
of being their Governour, & particularly of my late
Endeavours for the publick Safety.
*^I send by Cap^. Cooper a Hhd of Clarett & a
Hhd of Porter, & hope they will both prove good
and worth yJ. Acceptance.
^< Antigua May 22'?.'^ 1745.--''
The little boy had been born in February,
and the grandparents had not yet heard of
their *' Dear Betsey's " safety.
To this Colonel Pinckney answers, but not
until August : —
123
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Honourable Sir
Tho T have hardly half an hour's notice of this
Vessells sailing, I cannot omit the opportunity of
acknowledgeing the receipt of and returning you
my thanks for 3^our favours of the 22'?.'^ of May &
12*.!^ of July last — which were the more agreahle
as we had been in great pain for you upon the
account of the ffrench Squadron at Martinico.
He gives a poor account of the sale of the
West Indian produce, and does not encourage
further ventures. Thus this amateur trading
does not seem to have been very profitable.
Governor Lucas did better as a planter and
experimentalist. His daughter evidently got
her taste from him. He writes : —
^^As I am pretty well assured Land may he
found with you. to produce Flax and Hemp I
shall order Seed by the first Vessell from Philadel-
phia, and request j^ou will order ground to be pre-
pared for it, in hopes it may be arrived before
Spring is over.
^^I send by this Sloop two Irishe servants, viz.%
a Weaver & a Spinner, Indentured here at £10
Sterling pF. Annum, & as I am informed Mr Cat-
tle has produced both Flax & Hemp I pray you
will purchase some of the latter & order a loom
and spinning wheel to be made for them, & sett
them to worke, but lest it should not be to be had
in Carolina I shall order Flax to be sent from
124
MOTHERHOOD
Philadelphia with the seed, that they may not bo
Idle. I pray you will alsoe purchase wool and Sett
them to making negroes Cloathing w^^ may be
sufficient for my own People & the overplus to be
sold. I have also agreed with two more women
Spinners and a man Labourer (who I found in-
clined to go to Carolina) to pay their Passages w^^
is four pounds four shil. this Currency each, they
to serve any master or mistress inclin'd to employ
Them «& out of their Wages to repay you the said
sums, or to serve me a year unless they can other-
wise raise money to pay their Passages — ...
*' As I am afraid one Spinner can't keep a loom
at Worke I pray you will order a Sensible negro
woman or two if necessary to learn to spin «& wheels
to be made for tliem, the man Servant will direct a
Carpenter in making the loom, and the woman will
direct the wheel."
Flax and hemp were never grown to any ex-
tent in the low country of Carolina, but the
experiments must have interested many. They
certainly increased the varied labors of the
plantation and added to the affairs of which
Mrs. Pinckney was the head, and the hard-
working Mr. Murray the guiding hand. Some
of Mr. Murray's letters arc given here, to show
how varied these labors were. It must be re-
membered that he was the overseer of Colonel
Lucas's plantation, and had long been in con-
sultation with Mrs. Pinckncv. The letters were
125
ELIZA FINCKNEY
sent by the "boat;" viz. the sloop or schooner
which, coasting along through inlets and creeks,
conveyed the rice and other crops to market
at Charles Town. They are sometimes ad-
dressed to Colonel Pinckney, and sometimes to
" Madam Pinckney, at her House in Charles-
town."
^' Having an opportunity of a boat have sent
Barbuda [probably a West Indian negro] for we
are entirely out of salt and physick, the last two
Vials were not good it took two Dozes to make one.
" Please send some Turpintine and two pair cotten
cards, we shall have Cotten to make a good part of
the cloaths but a grate deal of trouble for want of a
gine. The indigo is not dry cannot give an account
of how much there is the rice suffers much for want
of raine. There are fourteen Stears fit for marlvet.
Please let me knowe what you would have done
with them, for there are so many hunters about
they drive them out of the range and I shall lose
them
^^ We are now at work upon yo, Roads. I went to
Mr John Hunt last January to know where we
should pay y^ worke we ood — ; he told me I must
not work when I pleased, when he thought conven-
ient heed lett me know, Sent me word by Mr
Metear about y° 16*- of April to come pay ye work,
but being about planting could not goe. Last
week they gave the constable an Execution, but
before it was served we paid the work. We have
126
MOTHERHOOD
sent 21 (locks & 12 young fouls, tliere are so
many a\ ild cats and foxes we cannot keep any stock
for Avant of good dogs. Please send some hand
saw files — August 1744."
The latter part of this letter refers to an an-
noyance still complained of, wherever, as in
most of the southern states, the road commis-
sioners have authority to call out the whole able-
bodied population to work the roads, quite
regardless of agricultural crises.
"June comes for thread, for the negroes are in
want of their Cloaths. Please send a Cooper's
broad ax for Sogo. it must be turned for the left
hand, Smith Dick knows how to doe it, and a
Cross Iron. Mr Greene came for ye Indigo Seed,
he said he will deliver ye bow-Sprit and the ring
for the mast and £18 cash upon delivery of 3'e
Seed. I have got GO bushels of Indigo Seed Ready,
hopes to have 20 bushels more but have not time
to get it out, for I have Some Eice in the feild,
Pompey has been very bad Twise with the Plurisy
& I could not get the new barn finished being
obleeged to take Sogo to make barrells. Oct- 1745."
" Sogo " (probably, from the name, a native
African) was the plantation cooper, Dick and
Pompey blacksmith and carpenter, June the
" patroon " or captain of the boat, — all these
and other trades were carried on, on all well
ordered places.
127
ELIZA PINCKNEY
The next letter evidently refers to the Irish
spinner and the weaver who had been sent from
Antigua by Governor Lucas.
April, 1746.
I have inquired for wool but can find none in
our parts, the woman has spun what wool She
brought up, has nothing to doe.
Sogo made a loom for the man but he wants
talde. Mr Gomans has got a quill wheel by liim,
the price three pound, he can make any thing that
is wanting. If you please to Send two pound of
Shoemakers' thread I will endevour to make har-
niss for him. Please let me know what provisions
j'-ou will alow them
We have been in great confusion about the Indi-
ans, the negroes were in such dread of them I
could not make them mind their work.
I can find no account of any particular In-
dian troubles in 1746, but the Yamassees and
other tribes hung like a cloud on the outskirts
of the southern settlements, and doubtless
there were many alarms.
Jany 1747
The boat came here ye 1611' in ye morning brought
two half hides, two Iron Ladles, one I have Ee-
turned it is too short, & no Socket for a Handel.
They sett out next morning, carries 50 bis. Rice,
two dear, I would have sent some Torkies but find
ye man a Stranger to ye Southard parts. There
are 100 bis Tarr at ye landing since Christmass
128
MOTHKRIIOOD
week in Expectation of Col. Blake's boat & 50
more read}'- to roll. . . . The kiln of 40 foot is
finishd but cannot burn it for want of blls.
The hides were for the plantation shoe and
harness market, the iron ladles for the indigo
vats ; the kiln must have been for burning
oyster-shell lime, such as was made all along
the coast, the shells being sometimes taken
from old heaps, said to be the relics of Indian
feasts. This must have been a strange boat,
whose patroon, unknown to " the Suthard,**
could not be trusted with such tempting freight
as "Torkies" at Christmas time.
Jan-Y.27'M747
The boat brings 30 blls Rice 5 lb Benne 4 Gesse
[geese]. Please send 18 broad hoes, a grindstone,
10 fatliom rope, old rope for ocum, some Salt, 2
pair of grains for to Straike Sturgeon to make oil
for the Indigo, etc., etc.
June 1747
This comes by the man that wove the negro
Cloath, he wove 142 yards and James Watt wove
44 for him. If you have any wool please send it
up before the cotton is ripe.
Thus we see that the weaving had made
good progress, but it is wool and cotton, not
flax and hemp, that are used. The " sensible
negro w^omen " learned the art very well, and
9 129
ELIZA PINCKNEY
excellent cloth continued to be woven on the
plantations in the low country (as it still is
in some of the upper districts), until compara-
tively recent times.
Besides attending to all this business, Mrs.
Pinckney had, at this busy period of her life,
her new domestic cares, and the social duties
which her husband's position demanded of her,
to occupy her; and moreover she had under-
taken at Belmont the cultivation of silk.
Silk had been one of the earliest things pro-
posed for the new Colony. Wine and silk
Charles 11. had expected from the Huguenots,
and why no wine seems ever to have been made,
until within the last thirty or forty years, is
strange. Of silk great things had been hoped.
Sir Nathaniel Johnson had called his place
" Silk Hope ; " and " Mulberry," the name of the
beautiful home of the Broughtons, indicates the
same idea. Mulberry-trees had been planted,
silkworm eggs imported, and a good deal of
silk is said to have been produced.
The truth was that other industries paid
better. It had fallen out of fashion and was
neglected when Mrs. Pinckney took it up. She
sent for eggs, paid great attention to the proper
drying of the cocoons, and continued it for
many years as an occupation for those of her
people who could do no other work. The negro
130
MOTHERHOOD
children gathered the mulberry leaves and fed
the worms ; she and her maids wound or
" reeled " the silk. She got so much of the
raw silk at this time, that on going to England
some years later she had three beautiful dresses
woven of it.
One of these she presented to the Princess
Dowager of Wales (mother of George III.)?
one to Lord Chesterfield who had befriended
the Colony, and tlie third, a lustrous gold-
colored brocade, owned by her granddaughter
in the fourth degree, is still greatly admired
when produced for exhibition.
Colonel Lucas did not give up his idea easily.
" If the Flax & Hemp " (he writes again in
December, 1746^ " is found to answer very
well, I will write to England to procure a
Dutch family or two to be sent to Carolina for
that manifacture — Li the mean time I think
Rice not to be neglected, as I imagine it will be
dropped by many, w'> must lessen the quantity
and perhaps increase the Value, Especially if it
should Please God to send us a Peace soon."
There were hopes of peace, for the English
had had some signal successes, and all parties
were known to be tired of the war. Governor
Lucas writes : —
'^ Admiral Townsend mett off INIartiniqiie a
Fleet of forty two Sails of Merchantmen under Con-
131
ELIZA PINCKNEY
voy of a 74 & a 64 Gun Shi pp. He took, burnt
and destroyed thirty saile of the Merchantmen &
run the two Men of Warr on Shoar, but they are
since got off — & we hear they are Joyn.*^ by 6
more men of War from old France, but our Squad-
ron is now so strong as to give us no apprehensions
from them."
A month later he writes : —
*^ Admiral Townsend's Success did not prove so
advantageous as Expected; he took 15 Saile, some
of them Small Merchantmen, four or five of them
sold here but I could not find a Drinkable Caske of
Claret among them. He was so farr from making
further pursuit after the Ships bound to S- Domingo
(w^!' indeed was not in his power) that he lay
Supinely at Barba?. a long time & wholy neglected
our Trade & all other The King's Service.
^^ He left us here two days ago with all the Ships
he brought with him, & if the Commadore re-
maining takes no more care to keep Cruisers out
for the Protection of the Merchantmen great Losses
must happen; a French Flagg of Truce a month
ago, and an English one w^^ returned yesterday
from Martinique, have between them bro?. near a
hundred prisoners taken out of trading vessels."
Governor Lucas's letters at this time relate
to war matters and to his hopes for the success
of flax and hemp in Carolina. Peace did not
come for two years more, and before it did
182
MOTHERHOOD
Governor Lucas was dead. The poor gentle-
man never realized his wish, often expressed,
of " ending his days in Carolina when his time
of service should have expired," for he died
very suddenly in 1747, the very year in which
the success of the indigo (in which he had
had " so many disappointments,") was assured.
It is to be hoped that he had heard that good
news before he passed away !
Governor Lucas's death was a great shock
to his daughter ; " they kept it from me," she
says, " and I discovered it by accident." The
result was a severe illness, and the loss of her
second child. There are a few lines of pathetic
lament for father and babe, and then no more
letters for several years ; only a memorandum.
" Wrote to Mrs Allen concerning the Re-
bellion," — this, the only notice of " the '45,"
and the loss of the last hope of the House of
Stuart.
13^
VIII
VISIT TO ENGLAND
1752-1758
Events now occurring in the Province had
considerable influence upon Mrs. Pinckney's
life. Throughout the Colonial history of South
Carolina, there were frequent conflicts of
authority ; sometimes between the people and
their governors, sometimes between the gover-
nors and the " boards " or " councils " in Eng-
land, by whom they were controlled. Jobs are
by no means a growth of this present age, and
Colonel Pinckney now became the victim of
one. The account of this transaction, given in
the Life of General Thomas Pinckney, is sub-
stantially as follows :
Colonel Pinckney was at this time the most
prominent lawyer in the Province, and greatly
respected and beloved by his fellow-citizens.
Chief Justice Graeme dying, Governor Glenn
appointed Mr. Pinckney to succeed him. The
appointment was generally approved, and no
doubt was entertained of its confirmation by
the King, George II. But in the meanwhile it
134
VISIT TO ENGLAND
became necessary for tlie Enolish Ministers to
provide a place for one of their adherents,
Peter Leigh, and they began to look around for
a good position for him. Mr. Pinckney had, at
this moment, held the office and performed the
duties of Chief Justice of the Colony for about
a year, but by some oversight his commission
had not yet received the royal assent. The
Ministers took advantage of the omission, super-
seded Mr. Pinckney, and conferred the posi-
tion upon Leigh, setting aside the governor's
nomination.
Much indignation was felt ; well grounded,
because Leigh, although a man of family and
fashion, does not appear to have been Mr.
Pinckney's equal in legal acquirement ; and
his character did not commend itself to hon-
orable minds. It was an early instance of
that "Ministerial Tyranny" (by no means to
be charged upon his blameless Majesty) which
was to work such woe in after years.
Mr. Pinckney's fellow-citizens now offered
him the position of Commissioner of the Colony
in London ; the medium of communication be-
tween the royal governor and the House of
Assembly of the Province, and the " boards "
and " Lords of Trade and of Plantations "
in London. The salary attached to this office
was small, only two hundred pounds a year, but
ELIZA PIN CRN EY
it was esteemed a dignified position, almost a
ministerial one, and Chief Justice Pinckney's
fortune was sufficiently ample to enable him to
accept it without inconvenience. I may observe
here that, notwithstanding the absence of the
royal assent, Mr. Pinckney is always spoken
of as " Chief Justice Pinckney," in all subse-
quent publications.
He accepted the commission willingly, for
he had long wished to revisit England. His
elder brother, dying some years before, had
left him a small landed estate near Durham,
which required his attention, and, young as his
sons were, he wished to place them at English
schools.
There were by this time (1753) another
son, " Tomm," and a little girl, Harriott,
(named, the family tradition says, after " Miss
Harriott Byron," the fashionable heroine of
the day), and we have already seen how early
these good people believed tliat education might
begin. The Colonies were now in a flourishing
condition, for the peace of Aix la Chapelle,
concluded in 1748, had set commerce free, and
Carolina, with no hindrance to her exports, and
with her large production of rice and indigo,
was growing rich rapidly.
It was a convenient moment for the departure ;
and yet there seems to have been some regret
13G
VISIT TO ENGLAND
in Mr. Pinckiiey's mind. Subsequent letters
show that he felt himself injured by the actions
of some of his countrymen. There are never
wanting those who will at all times support the
a[)pointee of a government, especially when,
as in this case, he has novelty and fashion to
recommend him. There must have been some
bitterness in his adieus to his native country,
to which he was ardently attached, and to
whose service he intended to devote his sons.
There are some pretty little stories in the
Family Legend so often quoted, of his walking
about the small town holding his eldest seven-
year-old boy by the hand, pointing out to him
the first heavily loaded, white-topped wagon that
came down from the up-country, and saying,
" Before you are a man, Charles, twenty wagons
may come." His son, to the end of his long life,
seldom saw any mark of progress or improve-
ment in the place, without saying, " How much
pleasure it would have given my Father!"
Everything that we read of this gentleman
(the Chief Justice) is honest, cordial, and
kind ; and we cannot help a feeling of regret
that his long anticipated visit to England
should have been dimmed by this vexation at
parting.
Of this disagreeable business there is not one
word in Mrs. PInckncy's letters. Was it that
lo7
ELIZA PINCKNEY
she had thoroughly laid to heart her father's
advice not to interfere in affairs whicli were
her husband's ; or did she think that in a
matter of vexation and dispute among men, a
woman's silence is more than golden ? We
cannot tell her reasons, for not a syllable
escapes her on the subject, but she was de-
lighted at going " Home," as she might well
feel England to be ; having spent so much of
her youth there.
Before leaving Carolina, however, the Pinck-
neys were to undergo a frightful experience.
They had, in preparation for departure, let
their house on the Bay to Governor Glenn, and
were living in another not very far from it in
EUory Street. On the morning of the 11th of
September, 1752, a terrible hurricane, thought
to have been the most severe that has ever
visited Charleston, broke upon the town. The
weather had been threatening for several days,
and the people were apprehensive. At nine
o'clock that morning, when the tide should
have been at the lowest, the water stood liigher
than at most spring tides. Then the wind
arose, lashing the waves to fury, and the
whole town became a raging sea. The wharves
were broken up, the wall of the bastions de-
stroyed, and the platform with the guns floated
seaward. There was terrible damage to the
138
VISIT TO ENGLAND
shipping, the Hornet sloop-of-war alone riding
out the gale ; many houses fell, and many lives
were lost. In one case, out of a family of
twelve only two were saved, and those two
drifted in opposite directions from their home
in Church Street, one being " taken in at the
window of a house in Broad Street," the other
floating entirely across the harbor into a tree
on the opposite shore. This is from the ac-
count of an eye-witness, Mr. Lamboll, published
by Dr. Ramsay.
The Pinckneys' house, a wooden one, was
thought to be in great danger, — the water being
four feet deep in the rooms ; and Uv. Pinckney
determined to remove his family by boat.
They were put into a yawl from one of the
ships, and the short but perilous voyage was
safely accomplished. They went to the house
of a friend on the ridge that runs across the
town nearly a mile from the point.
The house on the Bay bore the mark of this
hurricane as long as it stood ; for a pilot boat,
borne on the waves, battered down the hand-
some flight of stone steps leading to the first
floor, and made with her bowsprit a small
breach in the southeast corner of the house.
The damages were of course repaired, but Mr.
Pinckney made the workmen omit three or
four bricks from the outer layer to show the
139
ELIZA PINCKNEY
spot where the blow had been received, and
they were never replaced. The scar, if it may
be so called, was just below the second story
window, at least five and twenty feet from the
p^round, — a height probably accounted for not
only by the depth of water and height of waves,
but by the upward toss of the vessel and its
slanting bowsprit.
This danger so impressed Mrs. Pinckney
that she makes especial mention of it in one of
those papers of private devotion already re-
ferred to. She writes : —
''Besides those apointed by the Church the
following days are sett apart to be remembered
with the utmost Gratitude and Thankfulness to
Almighty God, by me, for great and particular
mercies received, and to be spent in devotion and
meditation on the Goodness of God to me and
The days so commemorated are her wedding-
day and the birthdays of her husband and chil-
dren ; the day on which one of the latter was
" restored to life and health when he was in
appearance dead or dying," etc. ; also
'^ The ll'l' Sept.% new stile, the da}^ of the great
Hurricane in 1752 when our whole family was
mercifully preserved from the great danger we
were then in."
140
VISIT TO ENGLAND
In the March following Ihcy sailed for Eng-
land, and arrived after a "short" passage of
thirty days.
" 'T is good to be in England now that April 's there,"
sings the poet rejoicing in the spring time ; and
we can fancy Mrs. Pinckney echoing the senti-
ment.
In those days of small ships and cramped
cabins a long voyage must have been a dismal
thing, and the Atlantic has its horrors even
when no hurricane is blowing. Mrs. Pinckney
was but a poor sailor, and in her first letter she
says to her friend Mrs. Woodward : " We ar-
rived in twenty five days after we left Charles
Town Barr. Never poor wretch suffered more,
that escaped with life than 1 did, notwithstand-
ing we had so fine a passage."
They did not land at Portsmouth, however,
but went round to the Thames, for on the very
threshold of England that dread disease, the
small-pox, met them. " Portsmouth, Gosport,
and Southampton " were full of it, therefore
they went immediately to London, and without
loss of time hired a house at Richmond "'for
the innoculation."
How dreaded the small-pox was then, one
must read the old memoirs to understand.
They are full of the loathsome details; as when,
141
ELIZA PINCKNEY
twenty years after this, Louis XV. 's courtiers
fled from the horrid corpse to which they did
not dare to do their duty ! The remedy, inoc-
ulation, was still comparatively a new thing,
for scarcely thirty years had passed, since
pretty, witty I^ady Mary Wortley Montagu, had
dared the danger for her own son, and brought
the secret from Turkey. It was opposed by
the doctors as an added danger, and by tlie
clergy as an interference with the will of
Providence, as chloroform was opposed within
the memory of persons now living.
It was not an unmixed blessing, for the
patients were sometimes very sick, and some
few died, — still, when successful it gave com-
plete immunity, and saved innumerable lives.
When it became common in Carolina, the
custom was for a party of young people, perhaps
five or six girls together, to receive the virus
at the same time, be shut up with the mothers
of one or two of the party and attendant
nurses, and go through all the stages in com-
pany ; thus confining the risk of contagion to
one house, and alleviating the tediousness of
the necessary isolation. Often the sickness
was only severe enough to keep them in bed
for two or three days ; the rest of the time
(about six or eight weeks) they drank tea,
gossiped, lounged about in " dishabille," and
142
VISIT TO ENGLAND
kept each other merry ; emerging sometimes
with a scar or two, but safe, as tliey tlioiight,
for life. Somewhere in one of Miss Mitford's
sketches there is an account of much the same
tiling in England. In 1753 it was still some-
wiiat dreaded, and Mrs. Pinckney w^as very
happy when she could announce a happy termi-
nation to her anxiety.
^^ Mem. Wrote to Lady Nesbit [her old scbool-
friend, Miss Parry] from Ricbmond, as ber Lady-
sliip was so obliging as to make me promise I
would do, to ac(|uaint ber bow our cbildreu got
through the Innoculation."
Also to her sister : —
D' Polly, — I must write if but two lines, in
hopes tbey will produce two more from you — w*^.*?
I do asure you will be as acceptable and almost
as great a rarity as a cake of ice w'^. be from yoxxv
regions of perj^etual summer.
And to her mother and brotliers also in An-
tigua, all by Colonel Talbott, " who was so
considerate as to give me a months' notice of
his sailing,"
Wlien this important business was over, Mrs.
Pinckney desired, as a loyal subject, perhaps
still more as an American woman, to see what
there was of Royalty. At that time Caroline
of Anspach, the Queen of George II. (or more
143
ELIZA PINCKNEY
vividly, the Queen of Jeannie Deans), had been
dead for some years. Her son, Frederick,
Prince of Wales, had also died in 1751, and
old George held a disreputable conrt, with
many disreputable women. The widowed Prin-
cess of Wales lived privately with her large
young family at Kew, and altliough, through
the jealousy of the King, allowed but little
state, represented all thr.t there then was of
decency in the Royalty of England. To her,
therefore, Mrs. Pinckney desired to " pay her
duty," and the following letter gives a curious
and minute account of the visit. This letter
is not in \\w. " letter book," but on a few pages
evidently lorn from the lost one. There is no
addi-ess, and one or two pieces are torn off.
Thus it begins abruptly : —
We had the Honour not long since to carry
our little girl, to joresent the Princess Augusta with
some birds from Carolina. It was attended with
great difficulty as the attendance about the Prin-
cess are extreamly causious who the}" admit to her
presence. We mentioned our desire to see the
Boyal family and to have our little girl present
the birds ... to a gentleman here [Richmond]
who we know to be well acquainted with some
about the Princess, he very readih^ undertook it,
and next day went to Kew where the Princess of
Wales and all her family reside during the Summer
144
VISIT TO ENGLAND
Season; they gave tlie Princess a Prodigious Char-
acter, and said they would mention it to her Koyal
Highness; but let him know at the same time how
great a favour they did him, by saying it was a
thing very rarely permitted, especially to those
they were not acquainted with, least they sh.^ have
anything to ask afterwards which miglit be trouble-
some to the Princess; but they depended upon
him, that he would not introduce any persons but
such as were proper to be presented to her Koyal
Highness.
The Gent""" said his own Character was so much
concernd in the case, that he should not presume
to mention any but such as he knew to be persons
of Character and Distinction in the Country from
whence they came, as this Gent™." was ; that he was
one of his Majesty's Council of So. Carolina, had
nothing to ask, but was desirous to show the
affection he had to his Majesty, and all his Koyal
House, and his inclination to see the Family; that
his Majest}'- had himself taken partic- notice of
him, and honoured him with a Conference since his
arrival; upon w"'- (this last especially) they said
they would let the Princess know.
They returnd and said the Princess would see
us, and we were desired to go at Eleven o'clock any
day the next week, w*:^ in a few days we did; we
exceeded our time a little and we found the Princess
gone a airing with the Princess Augusta, and it
was uncertain when she would return. We carried
the birds in the Coach with us, and wrote a card to
10 145
ELIZA PINCKNEY
give the child in her hand, in case we should not
go in with her. The card was this.
^'Miss Harriott Pinckney, daughter of Charles
Pinckney Esq--, one of His Majesty's Council of
South Carolina, pays her duty to her Highness and
humbly begs leave to present her with an Indigo
bird, a Nonpareil, and a yellow bird, w'^.^ she has
brought from Carolina for her Highness."
One of the attendance upon the Princess
Augusta came to the coach, and said she was very
sorry it happened so, but if we would come the
next day a little earlier we should see the Princess,
or if we did not chuse do that, or would rather
leave the birds, the Princess would be sure to hear
of us, and to have them ; w??" last we did, and left
the Card alsoe, and returned home, lamenting as
we went the uneasy situation of those who had
favours to ask or are dependance on a Court ! _
At night we had a message, that the Princess
Augusta would be glad to see Miss Pinckney at
one o'clock the next day; [Miss Pinckney cannot
have been more than seven years old]. We accord-
ingly went in full dress, and were desired to sit in
a parlour where we were rec*^. by an old lady, a for-
eigner, till the Princess should know we were
there. This Lady told us the Princess was very
sorry she was out yesterday when we [illegible] the
Princess was not quite dressed.
After we had sett some minuets a Gen*" came
in and desired we would follow him, we w^ent
through 3 or 4 grand r<:)oms of the Princess of Wales
146
VISIT TO ENGLAND
appartment till we arrived at her dressing room,
where we were received in a manner that surprized
us, for tho' we had heard how good a woman the
Princess of Wales was, and how very affable and
easy, her behaviour exceeded every thing 1 had
heard or could imagine.
She came forward and received us at the door
herself, with Princess Augusta, Princess Elizabeth,
Prince William, and Prince Henry. She mett us
with all the chearfulness and pleasure of a friend
who was extreamly glad to see us; she gave us no
time to consider how to introduce ourselves or to
be at a loss what to say, for she with an air of
benignity told us as soon as we entered she was
very glad to see us, took Harriott by the hand and
kissed her, asked her how she liked England, to
w?.^ she answered, not so well as Carolina, at w':^ the
Princess laughd a good deal, and said it was very
natural for such a little woman as she to love her
own Country best. She thanked her for the birds,
and said she was afraid one of them might be a
favourite of hers ; spoke Yexy kindly sometimes to
JNIr Pinckney, sometimes to me, and then to the
Child.
Mr Pinckney told her she had made us very
happy in the honour she was pleased to bestow upon
us, etc.
She introduced the Princes and Princesses
that were with her to us, and told us we should
seethe rest presently; inquired how long we had
been from Carolina, whether I was not frightened
147
ELIZA PINCKNEY
with the voyage, how the Children bore it, how
many we had, what their ages, sons or daughters,
whether Carolina was a good country whether we
had a good Governor, to w'r^ we replied in the
affirmative.
She said she was sure the King was all ways
pleased when his provinces had good governors;
enquired the Governor's name, and said she had
forgot it. She talked to us standing about half an
hour, for w°^ I was in great pain. Mr Pinckney
then told her he fear*?, we intruded upon her High-
ness and was going to withdraw, she told us not at
all, we should not go yet. She believed we would
be glad to see the Prince of Wales, and she would
send for him and Prince Edward; these two live in
a house just opposite to the Princess; she then sett
down in her chair. By this time my poor little
girl who had been a good deal flurried and over-
joyd at the thought of seeing the Princesses, be-
gan to cry tho' she smotherd it as well as she
could. The Princess said she feard she was un-
easy, calld her several times her little angel,
stoopd upon her knee to her, and desired she
would tell her what was the matter. I told the
Princess she had raisd her spirrits to such a height,
that she was not able to soport it any longer. Tlie
Princess then took her on her lap, and called again
for the three youngest Princesses, as they came in
she told them this was Miss Pinckney from Caro-
lina was conie to see them, and to go and kiss her.
The little creature Princess Caroline is a most
148
VISIT TO ENGLAND
charming little babe, speaks very plain, run to her,
kissd her, and said to the Princess, Mainma this
is my girl. I then asked her Royal Highness if
she would permit me to kiss the little one, she
reply"^, pray do, and ordered Prince Frederick but
three years old, to come and ask me if he was not
a good pretty little foot boy?
I should observe that as soon as we were intro-
duced the attendance all withdrew, and the Prin-
cess shut the door, and when the Princess ordered the
little ones in there was none of the attendance, nor
when she sent for the Prince of Wales, but the
Princess Augusta went out of the room herself on
these Messages to some one without, w^^ was 4
times while we stayd. There was in the room a
great deal of China upon two Cabinets ; the Prin-
cess got up herself and reachd one of the figures
to please Harriott, and another time desired the
Princess Augusta to get one w?> was out of her
reach, so she got a chair and stood on it to reach it.
She then calld for a little chair for one of the
little ones, who I fancy was not well, for 'tis not
usual for any one to sit in her presence, w*:.^ Princess
Augusta brought herself.
This, you'll imagine must seem pretty extra-
ordinary to an American.
The three youngest sett themselves down upon
the carpet at her feet. I told her Highness, (for
by this time I could converse with as much ease
with her as with almost any of my acquaintance,
such was her condescension and her affable en-
149
ELIZA PINCKNEY
gaging manner,) I said Princess Caroline (the
youngest of all) was very humble. She sayd she
was a pretty good girl ; then addressd her. Have
you ever been in the Corner my Queen ? No
Ma'am, says the pretty creature, never in the
corner. I 'm afraid you have, saj^s the Princess,
upon w?.'^ Prince Frederick says, No Ma'am she
was never in the corner, but that Sister has; point-
ing to Harriott who he had seen crying; her Mam-
ma puts her in the Corner sometimes. The Prin-
cess held up her finger at him, and told him 't was
he should be put in the Corner, Then I '11 go to
Carolina, says he. Well then, good by to you;
replyd the Princess.
She then bid H. sit down before her in the
chair Princess Emelia had just rose from. I told
her I could not suffer her to sit in her presence.
Puh-Puh, says the Princess, she knows nothing of
all that; and sat her down and told her she had
no pretty things here for her, but when she went
to London she would get something that was pretty
and send to her. By this time the little ones were
called to dinner, I observed that tho they were
quite easy in their behaviour and seemed to be
under no restraint, yet young as they were they
never spoke but one at a time, nor ever interrujjted
each other w'^'' children . . . usually do When the
4 youngest were gone the Princess resumed her
inquiries after Carolina.
Prince William had for sometime before taken
Mr Pinckney at a little distance from his Mama,
150
VISIT TO ENGLAND
aiul asked him sevral questions concerning Caro-
lina, the slaves, etc.; how many sons he had and
what he designed to bring them up to. He told
him, the eldest he designed for the barr, w?^ he
seemed to have capacit}'- and inclination for, the
other was too young to determine anything wdth
relation to him, as lie should consult his Genius.
But, says he, have you not designd something in
particular for him. Yes Sir, I believe the other
gown, if 't is his inclination. And what, says he
very quick, and none for the Sea? Mr. P. told
him he hoped to have another for the Sea. The
Princess had before introduced Harriott to him
in this manner. William, this is Miss P. from
S. Carolina, you are a sailour you know, may be
you may go there yet if there should be another
w^arr, w^^ I hope there will not for we have had
enough of That. So I imagine he is designd for
L*?. High Admiral of England, if there ever should
be another.
He asked wd^at school Charles was at, and
wondered Mr P. did not put him to Westminster,
he told him he designd it, but at the present
time he thought him too young. He said there
was a ... for little boys.
She asked me many little domestick questions
as did Princess Augusta among w^]' if I suckled my
children. I told her T had attempted it but my
constitution would not bear it. She said she did
not know but 'twas as well let alone, as the anxiety
a mother was often in on a child's ace* might do
151
ELIZA PINCKNEY
hurt. I told her we had Nurses in our houses,
that it appear*^ very strange to me to hear of people
putting their children out to nurse, we had no
such practises in Carolina, at which she seemed
vastly pleased; she tliought it was a very good
thing, the other was unnatural. Princess Augusta
was surprized at the suckling hlachs; the Princess
stroahd Harriott's cheek, said it made no alter-
ation in the complexion and paid her the compli-
ment of heing very fair and pretty.
She then resumed her inquiries after Carolina,
as to the Government and Constitution and whether
the Laws were made by the Governors and Coun-
cil, the particulars of w^.'.' Mr. Pinckney informd —
whether we had Earthquakes, askd us concerning
the Hurricane, . . . concerning the Indians their
colour, manners etc, how many of them we had
in our Interest, of our houses, of what they were
built, our wines and from whence we had them,
our manner of eating and dressing turtle, one of
wl? slie was to have for dinner next day she told
me, of the french settled among us, of the french
corrupting our Indians, of our manifactures and
concerning silk; how long the Province had been
settled, how far it extended back, and many other
questions, to all w^.^ we answered her Royal High-
ness in the clearest manner we could; and when
the Prince would engage Mr P. at a little distance,
and she wanted to ask him a question she would
call in a familiar obliging manner, Mr Pinckney
is such a thing so and so ?
152
VISIT TO ENGLAND
[A i)iece is lost here] who live in a house oppo-
site to her, so that we saw all nine children together,
and the Princess in the midst, and a most lovely
family it is.
After we had been there two hours, we kissed
her E-oyal Higness's liaud and withdrew, and she
ordered Prince Edward to see us to the door.
I hope you will pardon my thus intruding on
y.^ time. I know there are many Chit-chat, Negli-
gent things w°^ have a tolerable air in conversa-
tion, that make but a poor appearance when one
comes to write them down and subscribe to them
in a formal manner. But when I begin to wri^ j to
my friends in Carolina I don't know how ' con-
clude and this desire of conversing with them may
make me a very troublesome corrispondant, tho' I
hope it will at the same time show, how much I am
dear madam,
Yr affectionate and ob'?-*' sv.*.
E. PiXCKXEY.
I have given this very long letter in full, not
remembering ever to have seen such an account
of a serai-royal audience before. It is a pretty
and pleasant picture of the widowed Princess
and her little ones, with no shadow of Lord
Bute upon the canvas. The lost piece must,
from the context, have told the arrival of the
Prince of Wales, as he and Prince Edward
v^ere the two " \vho lived opposite;" it is a
153
ELIZA PINCKNEY
pity that we liave not an account of the future
George III.
Princess Augusta, the eldest daughter, mar-
ried a duke of Brunswick, and was the mother
of that duke, immortalized by Byron's Waterloo,
— who " rushed into the field and, foremost
fighting, fell."
In spite of all the graciousness and the loyal
enthusiasm, however, it is remarkable that
this is the first time that Mrs. Piuckney has
ever alluded to hei'self and her family as
" Americans."
Another long letter, written apparently, from
the contents, (for there are no dates), about a
year later, is to Mrs. Manigault, the wife of
that distinguished patriot Gabriel Manigault,
who in the Revolution placed his whole hard-
earned fortune at the service of his State ; and
having lost his son, offered himself and his
grandson — seventy-five and fifteen — for duty
in the trenches at the siege of Charles Town.
To this lady Mrs. Pinckney writes the warm-
est commendations and congratulations upon
that very deserving young gentleman her son,
" whose polite and obliging behaviour we have
experienced," and who, having finished his edu-
cation, is now to " make glad his Mamma's
heart " by returning to her. " I dare assert,
not only from mine but from better Judgements,
154
VISIT TO ENGLAND
he will make her amends for all her cares and
answer all her hopes." The prediction was
realized, the young man's early death having
been lamented as a loss to the country in whose
service he was engaged.
All young gentlemen from Carolina were not
so excellent. She goes on pathetically about
the son of one " venerable friend " whose de-
serts seem to have been just what he got,
" a sponging house." It reads like an old-
fashioned novel. The youth has run away
from " his master, an eminent attorney,"
hired a country house and is enjoying himself
extremely, " giving up all thoughts of the Law
of wh'^!' he seems to have a contemptable
oppinion," when bailiffs descend and carry him
off to prison.
Mr. Pinckney, filled with sympathy for the
" venerable parent " at home, goes to the rescue
and tries to induce the youth's master and En<>'-
lish relations to help bail him out. None, how-
ever, " although professing great esteem for liis
Father," will do so. "People here take great
care of their money," Mrs. Pinckney indig-
nantly exclaims, and when Mr. Pinckney and
Mr. Corbett (another American living in Lon-
don) go to arrange matters, they find so many
" taylours and otiier creditors in possession,"
that it is all they can do to prevent his being
156
ELIZA PINCKNEY
taken to Newgate. "A fine school for the
reformation of youth ! " the Colonial lady ex-
claims, in horror at the heartlessness of the
Londoners, " to be a companion to the wicked-
est and vilest of wretches, in a loathsome and
infectious jail ! Surely these people want feel-
ing hearts, but how can fathers want bowels ? "
This was before the time of Howard and Mrs,
Fry, when the debtors' prisons were a disgrace
to humanity.
" If you hear nothing of this from other
hands, I know you will be so good as to make
it a secret," she continues, showing great confi-
dence in her correspondent's discretion. She
goes on more happily : —
^' I am very glad that you have had so healthy a
summer, as I share largely in every felicity that
attends Carolina. I thank God we have all been
perfectly well, and y® winter is much more mode-
rate that we expected.
''We have been chiefly at Bichmond, since in
England, where we vizet 10 or a dozen agreeable
familys; the most disagreeable thing to me here is
the perpetual card playing, it seems with man}^
people here to be the business of life. We have
traveld about seven hundred mile by land this
summer, 't is a verj^ pleasant but expensive way of
spending time. We spent the last season at Bath,
where we were so lucky as to meet with sev- of
156
VISIT TO ENGLAND
our acquaintances, we thought ourselves particularly
so in meeting with Mr and Mrs Baker & Mr &
Mrs. Wragg's Brother and Sister there [friends
from Carolina] Was I to live at a distance from
London I don't know any place so agreable as
Bath. They have an exceeding good Markett
every day, in ye greatest perfection and cheaper
than any part of England that I have been in.
We spent some time most agreably in Wiltshire,
with one of Major Luttrell's relations, a very
Antient and Rich family. They treated us with
great friendship and politeness and show'd us
everything y* was curious and Elegant in that
county of w^^ there is not a few.
*'We go to London next week for good, we have
been at a great loss for a house there, anj, would
you think it, have not been able to gett a tolerable
unfurnishd house from Temple Barr to Charing
Cross, so that we have been obliged to take a fur-
nishd one ; 't is however a very hansome one and
gentilely furnishd, in a very good street, and in
ye centre of everything. [In another letter she
says ^< the house is ye last but one on ye left hand
in Craven S.V] With these conveniences, and with
an extensive good acquaintance, I hope Mr P. will
be quite reconciled to England, for ye time he pro-
poses to stay here. At present he is not quite
satisfied with it, and has manj^ yearnings after his
native land, tho' I believe never strangers had
more reason to like a place, everything considered,
than we have, but still I can't help applying a
167
ELIZA PINCKNEY
verse in ye old song to him sometimes, ^Thus
wretched Exiles as they roam, find favour every-
where but languish for their native home' etc. I
have been particularly happy in renewing an old
friendship with my Lady Carevv; a friendship begun
at a very early period of life, and now renewed
with great affection and condescention on her part,
(for she is greatly my superiour in every thing) and
with great sincerity on mine — "
*^ Mem, not time to coj^py fully ! "
This after four pages of closely written foolscap !
Of the travels mentioned above there is the
following memorandum: —
^^ Mem. Wrote to my Lady Carew upon our
coming from Bath to put her in mind of her prom-
ise to pay us a vizet at our return. Beg she would
bring Miss C. and Miss S. with her, and Sir
Nieholass, tell her we have two spair beds, it will
not putt us to ye least inconveniency. Told her of
our vizet to Studley, Mr Hungerford's, our friendly
and polite treatment there; our Peregrination from
thence to see whatever was curioiis in AViltshire;
Stonehenge, old Sarum, Salsbur}^ Cathedral, Lord
Pembroke's at Wilton, & Lord Folkstone's at
Longford, etc etc; returned again to Mr. Duke's
near Lake, then to Studley again, then to Bath
again, and then to Bristol."
This friendship with Lady Carew was very
true and tender ; it probably had much to do
158
VISIT TO ENGLAND
with their choice of a permanent home, for
they did not remain long in London. Mr.
Pinckney sold his property in Durham, and
bought a place near Ripley, in Surrey, intend-
ing to reside there until his sons should have
finished their education. Mrs. Pinckney had
enjoyed many things in London. The Family
Legend says, " She always spoke with pleasure
of the gayeties in w'^^ she had participated
during her second visit to England, of the cele-
brated actors & actresses whom she had seen,
and that she had never missed a single play
when Garrick was to act ; " but the place in
Surrey, the garden county of England, was a
home after her own heart.
It was not more than twenty miles from
London, so that Mr. Pinckney could attend to
his duties there without difficulty, and although
Lady Carew's beautiful house of Beddington
was twelve miles off, it was still within reach,
and there were near at hand several agreeable
families. Admiral Broderick was an old friend ;
Colonel and Mrs. Onslow. Mr. and Mrs. Chat-
field, and others were kind and friendly. Lord
King's place of Ockham Court was also near,
and with the family there, especially with Mrs.
King, the wife of the fourth brotlier, who ulti-
mately succeeded to the title, she became very
intimate. On her return to America her cor-
159
ELIZA PINCKNEY
respondence with these friends was continued
for years. Mrs. King, it may be observed, was
the great grandmotlier of that Lord King who
married Lord Byron's daughter Ada, and be-
came Earl of Lovelace.
The notes from Ripley show the usual rou-
tine of English country life ; dining, visiting,
etc., with sometimes a notice of a trip to Bath,
or a proposed journey " into the North." Little
Charles Cotes worth was at school, the two
other children at home : their mother writes : —
To my Lady Carew at Beddington.
My Dear Ma";^*', — Be so good as to give me
one line to let me know how 3^011 got home, you
can't conceive the anxiety we have been under on
yf going 12 mile (tlio in a coach and six) on so dis-
mal a night, it rained excessive hard and the wind
blfew a perfect storm soon after 3-ou left us. A
hundred whimsical, (I hope I may call them so,)
apprehensions came into my head I try'd what the
new books, Boadicea, and Sir Cliarles Grandison,
just received, could do to putt you for ye night out,
and bring m}^ mind to a settled frame, nor could I
gett to sleep till past one when I hoped you might
be well at home." . . .
And again : —
^' This [an illness of her youngest son] has
prevented our indulging ourselves with ye long
160
VISIT TO ENGLAND
intended gratification of our wishes to spend a few
days with you at Beddington. ... I most sincerely
hope y\. afflictions will now have an end, and y?.
Father of Mercies will restore j^our Daughter be-
yond y!. most sanguine expectations.''
Poor Lady Carew was a sadly afflicted
woman ; all her children died before her, this
last daughter three or four years later, and her
own health was extremely precarious. Mrs.
Pinckney concludes : —
*'I now see you so seldom that this is almost
the only way I have of conversing with you, and
therefore should he glad I could make my letters
consist of more than mere 'How doos/ but except
y^ action done by ye New England forces under
Gen|. Johnson —
" 3Iem. not time to coppy fully but wrote upon
the Earthquake at Lisbon.''
This reference fixes the date of this note as
1755, by which time one would suppose there
was plenty of news for any one connected with
America. The following strikes the note of
alarm :
''Instead of this we intended to have done our-
selves the pleasure of Breakfasting with your Lady-
ship this week at Beddington, but Mr Pinckney's
time has been wholly ingaged in preparing papers,
11 161
ELIZA PINCKNEY
and attending on yl Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, on ye late alarming accounts of
the strides the French are making on ye backs of
our English CoUonys in North America, and w?.^
may too soon very materially affect that province
to w^'^ we are so nearly related."
This note must have been written in 1755 or
1756, and by that time the " backs of y.? collonys"
were indeed in an alarming condition. Brad-
dock was defeated near Fort Duquesne in '55,
and the French were exciting the Indians
along the borders from Canada to Virginia.
As yet, however, Carolina was comparatively
tranquil, and it is a curious instance of the
sliglit connection hitherto felt between the
different colonics, that such an event should be
entirely unmcntioned in these letters. That
same year, however, the common danger drew
them together, and the governors of the dif-
ferent provinces met for the first time, to con-
cert measures for common protection against
the French and their Indian allies, — thus fore-
shadowing the brotherhood of banded colonies
that w as to defy the British empire.
In Europe itself an unusual tranquillity pre-
vailed. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, hollow
though it was, had hushed the guns in the
western waters, and relieved the long suffer-
ings of the maritime countries. In the French
162
VISIT TO ENGLAND
and English possessions in the East Indies,
however, and along the American frontiers,
hostilities had never ceased, and Benjamin
Franklin had already declared that the English
colonies would never know rest, while the
French were masters of Canada.
Aggressions on both sides now broke the
peace, and war was formally proclaimed. The
southern colonists heard the news with dismay,
— to them peace and plenty were synonymous,
and Carolina at least had not yet felt the prov-
ocations. To her, interference with commerce
meant ruin, and years were again to pass be-
fore a letter could go from the new to the old
world except in an armed vessel or a merchant-
man under convoy.
Mr. Pinckney's official position made the
situation especially clear to him, as shown by
entries in his books; and his wife wrote to
her friend, apologizing for failing to meet her
at Bath as they had promised to do.
^^ When the frequent opportunities I sliould have
of conversing with my much valued friend Lady
Carew was the principal pleasure I promised my-
self in being there.
'^1 delay*^ writing to you then till we had fixt
the time for seting out, but before that was de-
termind the bad ace'.? we had from abroad and the
many repeated ones afterwards turnd the tide of
163
ELIZA PINCKNEY
pleasure we had in prospect to gloomy anxiety,
and made me neglect all Epistolary intercourse
with my friends, for upon our continual alarms
from abroad, Mr. Pinckney came to a resolution to
return to Carolina for two years, and wait an op-
portunity to dispose of the greatest part of what
he has there, and fix it in a more secure tho' less
improvable part of the world ; and as I can by no
means think of staying behind him, you can judge
my dear Ma*.™ what I have sufferd, and do still
suffer in the expectation of parting with all my
dear children for two or three years and consider-
ing the uncertainty of life perhaps for ever! These
my dear friend are too interesting considerations
not to be sensibly felt by us. A long sea voyage,
besides the danger of being taken and what hard-
ships we may suffer in an enemy's country at
this time are apprehensions that also excite pain,
but of a less affecting nature than leaving the dear
creatures for whose advantage we are content to
undergo all inconveniencies.
^^ How uncertain are human dependancies! four
years ago we left a fine and flourishing Collony in
profound peace; a Collony so valuable to this
nation that it would have been lookd upon as
absurd to have the least doubt of its being pro-
tected and taken care of in case of a Warr, tho' a
Warr then seemed a very distant contingency, and
indeed I lookd upon an Estate there as secure as
in England, and upon some ace'.' more Valuable,
especially to those who have a young family; but
164
VISIT TO ENGLAND
how mucli reason we liave had to change our senti-
ments since the beginning of this AVarr, is too
pLain to every one ever so little acquainted with
American Affairs.
^'We first had thoughts of carrying our little
girl with us, but considering the danger to wh":!' she
must be exposed, have thought better of it, and
shall leave her as well as her brothers.
"We think of letting our House at Ripley with
the furniture standing till our return, and shall be
in London before we Embark, as we intend to wait
for a man of Warr if there should be any prospect
of one in the summer or fall of the year, going
that way. . . .
"Poor dear Miss Carew! I am very sorry her
journey to Bath has been of so little effect, we
have had dreadful weather for her complaints. I
long much to see her, and we shall certainly wait
on y^. Ladyship and Sir Nicholass before we leave
England. . . .
"Adieu my dear Mad!^ and be assurd what ever
part of the world Providence allots me I shall
ever retain the most affectionate regard for you.
Your own merrit and the constancy of my dis-
position will make you ever dear to me, and I shall
rejoyce and share in every felicity that attends you,
be the distance between us ever so great. . . . Once
more adieu and believe me etc.
"Piipley Eeb-iTT'-MToT."
This sad farewell is the last English letter
that we Lave; but they did not return to
165
ELIZA PINCKNEY
America for another year, sailing in March
1758 and taking the little girl with them.
Both the bojs were left at school, — their
mother little dreaming, poor lady ! that she
was not to see either again until they were
166
IX
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
1758-1759
The Pinckneys had been absent from Caro-
lina for five years, and on arriving Mr. Pinckney
found his property in great need of attention,
for his brother, whom he had left in charge,
had been smitten with paralysis. The Chief
Justice went into the country to visit his dif-
ferent plantations, was seized with fever, and
died after an illness of three weeks, on the
13th of July, 1758.
We know but little of the circumstances, for
it is to the credit of Mrs. Pinckney's taste and
sense, that she spares her correspondents the
details of illness and death, which mourners too
frequently pour from their overflowing hearts
into indifferent ears. They had not, upon
arriving, returned to their own house, for that
had been let upon a long lease to Governor
Glen, and it continued to be occupied by
successive governors until their son, Charles
Cotesworth, attained his majority. They were
167
ELIZA PINCKNEY
occupying the house in Ellory Street when Mr,
Pinckney's illness began, but he died at Mt.
Pleasant, a seashore village across the harbor,
to which he had been removed for change of
air. He was buried in the yard of St. Philip's
Church, of which he had long been a faithful
member.
It is to be regretted that the " Gazettes " for
this particular year are missing from the val-
uable collection in the Charleston Library, so
that we have no public mention of Chief Justice
Pinckney's death. His granddaughter, Miss
Maria Pinckney, in the often quoted Family
Legend, says that his son had " the most ex-
alted opinion of his father, not from recollection,
as he [C. C. P.] was only twelve years old when
he last saw him, but from the reflections and
notes in his own handwriting, that he found
dispersed through his books. These books are
no longer in existence. At the commencement
of the war between England and the colonies
the greater part of the library, papers of con-
sequence, and everything that was valuable in
the family, were sent to Ashepoo, to a place
belonging to General Thomas Pinckney, sup-
posing it to be sufficiently remote to be out of
danger; but the house was at length burned,
with everything in it, except what had been
plundered and carried off."
IfxS
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
This was in Provost's baffled attack on
Charles Town in 1779.
We have, consequently, only tradition, and
the letters of his wife, from which to form an
impression of Mr. Pinckncy's character. For
the terrible blow of his death Mrs. Pinckney
was quite unprepared ; the mistaken tender-
ness of her friends, and her own hopeful dis-
position had, she says, blinded her to the
danger, and made the shock the greater.
She was sadly isolated as far as kindred
went, for except her little daughter she had
no relation of her own nearer than Antigua,
Mr. Pinckncy's only brother was helpless from
paralysis, and the latter's son a young man just
grown up. This youth had, before Mr. Pinck-
ncy's second marriage, been considered his
uncle's heir. The birth of the little Charles
Cotesworth had, of course, put an end to this
arrangement, but not, the Family Legend says,
to the bond between them. " It did not dimin-
ish his affection for his uncle, or his love for
his young cousin. . . . Nor did his Uncle remit
his care and attention to him, he continued to
live with him, he educated him for the Law,
sent him to England five years for the comple-
tion of his education. ... He was the father
of Charles Pinckney, one of the Framers of the
Constitution."
1G9
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Whenever in the following letters " My
Nephew " or " Your Cousin " is spoken of, this
young man is meant, although he had brothers
and sisters. He assisted his aunt in the
management of her affairs. She had also the
kindest of friends, as her letters show, but she
was naturally overwhelmed with grief, and it
was not until August that she found strength
to write to her children.
To my dear Children, Charles ^ Thomas Pinchney.
How shall I write to you, what shall I say to
you my dear, my ever dear children? but if pos-
sible more so now than ever, for I have a tale to
tell you that will pierce your tender infant hearts ;
you have mett my children with the greatest loss
you could meet with upon earth your Dear Father
the best and most valuable of Parents is no more.
. . . Endeavour to submit to the will of God in
the best manner that you can, and let it be a com-
fort to you my dear Babes that you had such a
Father ! He has set you a great and good exam-
ple, may the Lord enable you both to follow it,
and may God Almighty fulfill all your plus
father's prayers upon both your heads ; they were
almost incessant for blessings both spiritual and
temporal upon you both . . . His affection for
you was as great as ever was ujjon Earth, and you
were good Children and deserved it; he thought
you so, he blessd and thankd God for you and had
170
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
most comfortable hopes of you — . . . His sick
bed and dying moments were the natural conclu-
sion of such a life as his was, for that God whom
he had served enabled him to put the firmest trust
and confidence in him; his patience was great and
uncommon & he had the most perfect resignation
to the Will of God that ever Man had. He mett
the King of Terrors without the least terror or
affright and without agony and went like a Lamb
into eternit}', where I have not the least doubt he
will reap immortal Joy for Ever and Ever. . . .
Adieu my dear children. God Almighty bless
guide and protect you, make you his own children,
and worthy such a father as yours was, and comfort
you in this great affliction, is the fervent and
constant prayer of
Your ever affectionate tho greatly afflicted
mother,
E. PiNCKNEY
who feels most exquisitely for what you must suffer
upon the receit of this letter, God Almighty
soport y " tender spirrits.
Amen Amen.
August, 1758.
This cry of anguish the bereaved woman
encloses to Mr. Gerrard, the gentleman at
whose school her sons were, with the most
anxious prayers for tender treatment of the
poor little fellows, that lie will *' brake it to
171
ELIZA PINCKNEY
them," especially to poor little Tommy who,
" early one morning as he lay abed, and I alone
with him, without any discourse leading to it,
told me he had a favour to beg of me ; w'^^ was,
if we went to Carolina and his dear papa should
dye there that he might never know it, and he
would ask his papa the same favour if I dyed
there."
She writes in the same strain to Mrs. Evance,
the friend who is to be to her sons the same
motherly guardian that Mrs. Boddicott (now
dead) had been to her brothers and herself;
and to their business manager in England,
George Morley, Esq., telling the same tale of
grief, but making scrupulously careful arrange-
ments for meeting all expenses, etc.
To Mr. Gerrard.
I have beg" tlie favour of my friend Mrs. Evance
to pay the children's bills punctually; but my debt
of gratitude will always be due. My return to
them is at present uncertain, but my heart is with
them and as soon as I can consistent with their
interest, they may be sure I shall with the Divine
Permission see them. I have sent a large barl. of
rice, w "' their dear Father had orderd should be the
best, and to be sent to you. The children love it
boild dry to eat with their moat instead of bread,
they should have had some patatoes of this country,
but they are not yet come in.
172
DEATU OF CUIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
To Mr. Morley.
[After repeating the account of her husband's
illness and death] —
I know I need not beg of you good sir, to be
kind to my dear fatherless children, and to supply
Mrs. Evance with what she needs for them, w^!" sliall
be repay ^. with speed and gratitude. I am not able
to write to you now upon business, but my Nephew
will do it by this convoy, and send you bills of
Exchange (to what amount I can't yet tell,) but I
shall remitt you for the future all the mony I can
as fast as I receive it, and when y- debt is payd
and the children's expences defrayd pray be so good
as to put what remains in the funds. . . .
Since the foregoing T have seen my Nephew
and he tells me he has the promise of Bills of
jr^c'ipe f^j, 2 hundred pound sterling, w':^ he will
send by these ships, and the GovF. has promised he
will write to his agent to pay you two hundred
pound sterling, provided you have not received one
hundred pound since we left England ; so I hope
you will upon the arrival of these ships receive
£400.
My dear Mr. Pinckney had provided some Turtle
etc., for his friends in England w^.^ are now sent,
I think by Ball & Cheeseman, but as I am in
the country and am not yett certain, I must beg the
favour of you Sir to give the person that takes care
of them, a crown for every Turtle you receive alive,
and wliatever you think reasonable for eacli bird
173
ELIZA PINCKNEY
and Summer Duck, and send tliem free of expence
to the persons they are designd for.
There are four large & one smaller Turtle, If
they all, or any number of them come safe, the
largest to be sent to Mrs King in Dover Si or
at Ockham Court Surrey, and all the Summer
Ducks and Drakes and 2 or 3 Nonpareils; but if
only one Turtle come safe that to be sent to Mrs
King, if more, one to Mr Edwards in Bedford
Kow, one to Sir Nicholas Carew at Beddington,
and one to Mrs Peter Milman in New Broad S*.
buildings, and if all the large ones got safe the
small one for Mr Chatfield, but the 4 first named
must be first served, and I beg Mr Morley's
acceptance of all the rest of the birds, how many I
can't say, there was a great many when I left
town.
All the persons here mentioned are their
neighbors in Surrey. The scrupulous carrying
out of her husband's wishes, and the attention
to these details in the midst of her grief, are
most characteristic of the woman. One won-
ders if the wild ducks reached England alive !
Not until October could she get an oppor-
tunity of writing to Antigua, and then, careful
of her mother's health and nerves, she enclosed
the letter to her in one to her sister, and sent
both under cover to their friend Colonel Tal-
bot; begging him to prepare them for the sad
intelligence.
174
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
Antigua.
To Mrs Lucas —
With a bleeding heart dear Madam I inform
you that since you heard from me the greatest
of Human Evils has befallen me. Oh ! My Dear
Mother my dear, dear Mr Pinckney the best of
men and husbands is no more ! Oh, dreadful re-
verse of what I was when I last wrote to you !
You were but a short time witness of my happi-
ness. I was for more than 14 year the happiest
mortal upon Earth ! Heaven had blessed me be-
yond the lott of Mortals & left me nothing to wish
for. The Almighty had given every blessing in
that dear, that worthy, that valuable man, whose
life was one continued course of active Virtue.
I had not a desire beyond him, nor had I a peti-
tion to make to Heaven but for a continuance of
the blessings I injoyd for I was truly bless'd !
Think then what I now suffer for myself and for
my dear fatherless children ! Poor babes, how de-
plorable is their loss !
Their Example, the Protector and guide of
their youth, the best and tenderest of parents is
taken from them. God alone who has promisd
to be the Father of the fatherless can make up this
dreadful loss to them, and I trust he will keep
them under his Almighty protection and fulfil all
their pius Father's prayers upon their heads and
will enable the helpless distressd parent they have
left to do them good
Grant Great God that I may spend my whole
175
ELIZA PINCKNEY
future life in their Service and show vaj affection
and gratitude to their dear Father by my care of
those precious remains of him, the pledges of
the sincerest and tenderest affection that ever was
U23on earth.
It was principally for their advantage that we
returnd again to this Province, my dear Mr
Pinckney intending as soon as his affairs were
disposed of in the manner he approvd to return
to our Infant Sons. But how much anguish did
the parting with his dear boys give tliat most
affectionate and best of fathers ! He parted with
life with less pain than with them, for in that
awful hour he sliowed the fruits of a well spent
life; his had been the Life of a constant, steady,
active Virtue, with an habitual Trust and Confi-
dence in, as well as an intire Resignation to the
Will of the Deity, w??" made him happy and chear-
ful thro life, and made all about him so, for
his was true religion, free from sourness and super-
stition, and in his sickness & death the good man
and the Christian shind forth in an uncommon
resolution and patience humility and intire
resignation to the Divine Will. My tears flow
too fast — I must have done. Tis too much, too
much to take a review of that distressful hour!
We left England in March, (and did not acquaint
you with it least you should be uneasy from appre-
hensions of our being taken,) and arrived here the
19*" of Ma}^, after being at sea ten weeks ; one of
my dear Mr Pinckney 's first inquiries after his
176
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
arrival here, was for a Vessel to Antigua, in order
to write to you and my brother ; we lieard of one
hut she was stopd by an Embargo till after the
12'.'^ of July, the fatal day w'i^ deprivd me of all
my Soul holds dear & left me in a distress w^.l^ no
language can paint, for his Virtues and aimiable
qualities are deeply imprinted in my heart, his dear
image is ever in my Eye, and the remembrance of
his affection and tenderness to me, must remain
to my latest . day a remembrance mingled with
pleasure and anguish. The remembrance of what
he was soothes and comforts me for a time. AVith
what pleasure I reflect on the clearness of his head,
the goodness of his heart, the piety of his mind,
the sweetness of his temper, the good Sence and
vivacity of his conversation, his fine address, the
aimiableness of his whole deportment, for I did
not know a Virtue he did not possess; this pleases
while it pains and may be called the Luxury of
Grief. This you know is not a picture drawn by
flattery or partiality, many will subscribe to the
justice of it, all y * really knew him must. But
what anguish in the thought that these that were
my great delights and blessings are taken from
me for ever in this world, for in the next I hope
there is a union of Virtuous souls, where there is
no more death no more parting but virtuous love
and friendship to endure to Eternity ! and this
surely must be one of the greatest degrees of bliss
a human Suul can injo}^, except the injoyment of
the Deity himself, and this hope is my comfort
12 177
ELIZA PINCKNEY
for every tiling below has lost its relish. Earth
has no more charms for me, I have indeed had a
large share of Blessings. How undeserving was
I, how unexpected such a treasure, and yet Boun-
teous Heaven gave him to me.
0 ! had Heaven but added one blessing more,
and spared him to see his dear children brought
up, and let us have gone to the Grave hand in
hand together, what a Heaven had I injoy'd
upon Earth !
But why those great and uncommon blessings
to me? those already injoyd were beyond desert;
vastly beyond desert and expectation. Great God
Almiglity give me thy grace and enable me to
drink this bitter cup w":^ Thou hast allotted me,
and to submit to Thee however hard the task,
with that resignation and submission w*!^ becomes
thy creature and servant, and one that has tasted
so largely of Thy Bounty.
How long a letter have I wrote and all on one
dismal subject; forgive me oh! My Mother for
giving you so much pain while I have indulged
myself thus, but my Soul is oppressd with bitter
anguish and my thoughts intirely taken up with
my own melancholy concerns.
1 lately received a letter from good Col. Talbott
to my poor dear Mr Pinckney, with one inclosed
from you to me, informing me of my brother's
being saild to England, it w?. have given us
great pleasure had it been a year ago, we should
then have mett with comfort & pleasure; but my
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
dear boys will rejoyce to see their Uncle, and I
hope he will be there before the nielanclioly tid-
ings reaches them. My heart is with them and
T sliall with the Divine Permission return as soon
as I can. I shall write to you again soon if I am
able. I hope you will allways command me in
everything wherein I can serve you, and be as-
ured H is not more my duty than my inclination
to show you in every instance in my power how
much I am
Your Dutiful and affectionate tho
greatly afflicted Daughter
E. PiNCKNEY.
S"-^- Sept?: 25*.M758 —
[Sent apparently early in October.]
It is difficult to make a selection from the
letters of this time. They are many, but all
naturally upon the same subject. Grief is
monotonous, and a mind absorbed in its own
sorrow repeats the phrases which alone convey
its thoughts. A few paragraphs throwing
light on different points are therefore taken,
— the omitted portions being much the same
in all.
In a letter to Mrs. Evance is one of the few
allusions to the ill feeling in the matter of the
Chief Justiceship. She writes in February, 1759,
and is not sure that her letters of the August
before have been received. Those which she
179
ELIZA PINCKNEY
acknowledo'es were written in June ! So much
did the war interfere with communication.
She continues : —
^^Tho I take up vaj pen again I will not resume
the distressful subject, but turn my thoughts where
I trust the Almighty will in pity and mercj^ give
me comfort where I most desire it. I will talk to
you of my children pray let me hear as often as
possible how they do, how they look, whether they
grow, and say as much as you can about them, for
the hearing of them, and that they are good &
well is the greatest cordial to my distressd mind
that can possiblj' be administerd.
^'Accept for ^-ourself dear Ma**.'." and return to
all our friends that show any countenance to our
dear boys the sincere acknowledgements of a grate-
ful heart, that will ever look upon itself as under
the highest obligations to them for their goodness to
my children, especially to good Mr & Mrs Middle-
ton, Doctr Kirkpatrick & Mr Morley. ... I hope
they are now with you in London, but they will be
at school before this can reach you. I must beg
the favour of you therefore to add to the many
kindnesses w''.!' I know you have indulged them
with, that of spending a day with them at Camber-
well when you receive this to let them know I and
their dear little sister are well ; won't the good
Doct' accompany you ? I know he takes pleasure
in being friendlj^ and humain and won't think it
too trifeling to chear the little hearts of innocent
180
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
clnldren. I beg leave to insist you will sett down
the expenses of dinner, coach hire etc, to my
accl I forget whether I mentioned to you before
I left England, (I know I intended it,) that the
children should make y' servants, some acknowl-
edgement of their trouble at holiday times, what
you think proper ; it was what they always did to
our own, and at Whitsuntide they used to make
Mrs Greene [the housekeeper at school] the pres-
ent of a guinea for a pound of tea, besides the
donations at Xmas at Camberwell, so that if Mrs
Greene had it not last Whitsuntide, they must
carry her two, the next. . . .
^<I have not been in town since my great misfor-
tune, but at my friend Mrs Golightly^s in the
country, from whom I have experienced the great-
est tenderness, but I shall return in a fortnight to
my own solitary habitation in C" Town, where 'tis
necessary I should be on ace* of business."
Ill such careful ways as the above she never
fails to train her children, in what she thinks
the kindness due to others. She never forgets
in writing to send her love to "the Masters
Drayton," two little Carolinians, (one of whom
became in after years the distinguished Chan-
cellor, William Henry Drayton) who were at
school with her sons, and when she sends
" the present of a guinea " to her own boys,
always sends one also for " Master Tomm
Evance." ^^^
ELIZA PINCKNEY
To Mrs. Chaffield at Ripley/.
In this country he [Mr. Pinckney] had it in
his power to do good various ways, and his life was
a continual course of active virtue ; his power to
Exercise it in England was circumscribed within
much narrower bounds, as his Estate was at a dis-
tance and so badly managed that he seldom re^.*^ more
than a half of his income from hence. He had
such an amiable sweetness & cheerfulness of dis-
position, that in above fourteen year that T was his
happy wife, I never knew him pensive, till that
Power was too much confind for his benevolent
mind; then was I often witness to his secrete
grief for troubles, that reaclid neither him nor
those most near to him. It would give you some
idea of what he must have merited from mankind
if 3^ou knew how much he was Lamented, for could
Prayers or Tears have rescued him from the grave,
he had never seen Death. Even his poor slaves
(who are a people not generally esteemd the most
tender) travel'd some thirty, some forty mile in the
night, to see the last of a Master they almost
adored, and several of them would willingly have
given up their own lives, to have had his spared to
their children, so strong did natural affection to
their offspring work in these poor creatures, and so
sensible were they of their great misfortune ; &
many of them now say they would rather serve his
children than be free.
182
DEATH OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
The August fleet had been scattered, the
vessel with the bills of exchange captured, and
the turtles and wild ducks probably lost, for in
the next year, there is mention of " another
attempt " to send them, but one vessel carr}^-
ing one of the duplicate letters arrived in Eng-
land, and the faithful Mr. Morley wrote, and
many other friends. The boys were too much
afilicted to write, but were well, and Mr. Ger-
rard sends " a character of them w^> is the
greatest comfort I can receive." Mr. Pinck-
ney's will had been left in England. His
widow did not receive it until the following
summer ; she acknowledges the receipt of it in
September, 1759, and says : —
To Mr. Morletj.
I have not yet proved the will and am advised
not to do it, as it would be attended with much
trouble in taking a particular Inventory of every
thing even the most minute, w':^ must be return?
upon oath, and the proving of it is, t' is said, un-
necessary, as there is but little due from the
Estate, and nobody to call me to ace*, and the
will itself must remain good and in Force as 't is
on Record.
However if you think it best I shall not mind the
trouble, but will still do it, as I would perform the
Sacred Trust to the utmost of my ability in every
Tittle in the best way I can.
183
ELIZA PINCKNEY
This will, almost the only composition of
Mr. Pinckney's remaining, was highly prized
by his sons, who esteemed it as a lesson of life
bequeathed to them, by their honored father.
In it he makes the most careful provision for
their education, which, as better than house
or lands, is, he says, to be completed in the
thorough manner which he had planned, even
if by the vicissitudes of the colonies it should
be necessary to sacrifice real estate to meet the
expense. Any of his property, he says, may be
sold for the purpose, — " Always excepting his
estate of Pinckney Island."
On his " Mansion house," bequeathed to his
eldest son, he leaves a charge of ten guineas
per annum, for the founding of a semi-annual
lecture, to be delivered in St. Philip's Church,
Charles Town, in May and October of every
year, on the " Goodness and Greatness of God."
This bequest was faithfully observed. Every
year, until the liouse was destroyed in 1861, a
clergyman, either chosen by the bishop, or by
the representative of tlie family, preached the
two sermons. During the lifetime of General
Pinckney, the clergy were entertained at a din-
ner the same day ; when he was succeeded by
his daughters, an evening reception was substi-
tuted for the dinner and was attended by the
bishop and all the clergy and many other
184
DEATU OF CHIEF JUSTICE PINCKNEY
guests. Thus tlic " Pinckney Lectures" and
the Piiickney "clerical teas," as they were
called, perpetuated the memory of their pious
founder, to '' a period within the memory of
men still living." In the Life of General
Thomas Pinckney two clauses of this will are
given, which are reprinted here, as such senti-
ments can hardly be read too often : —
*'And to the end that my beloved son Charles
Cotesworth may the better be enabled to become
the bead of his family, and prove not only of ser-
vice and advantage to his country, but also an
honour to his stock and kindred, my order and
direction is that my said son be virtuously, religi-
ously and liberally brought up, and educated in the
study and practice of the Laws of England ; and
from my said son I hope, as he would have the
blessing of Almighty God, and deserve the counte-
nance and favour of all good men, and answer my
expectations of him, that he will employ all his
future abilities in the service of God and his coun-
try, in the cause of virtuous liberty, as well religi-
ous as civil, and in support of private right and
justice between man and man ; and that he by no
moans debase the dignity of human nature, nor the
honour of his profession, by giving countenance to,
or ever appearing in favour of, irreligion, injustice
or wrong, oppression or tyranny of any kind, public
or private ; but that he will make the Glory of God
and the good of mankind, the relief of the poor and
185
ELIZA PINCKNEY
distressed, the widow and the fatherless, and such
as have none else to help them, his principal aim
and study.
^'I do also direct that my beloved son Thomas
Pinchney shall have the same virtuous, religious and
liberal education out of my estate with his brother,
and although I cannot yet direct, to what profes-
sion he shall be brought up, yet I have the same
hopes and expectations of him as of my eldest son ;
and I desire as soon as he is capable of reason and
reflection, he be informed thereof 5 and that a pas-
sion for the same virtuous and noble pursuits be
inculcated in him as in his elder brother."
A life so pure and beneficent as Chief Jus-
tice Pinckney's could not well be ended by
utterances wiser or nobler than these ; and
we cannot wonder that they came to his chil-
dren as the voice of one " who being dead yet
speaketli."
186
THE INDIAN WARS
1759-1761
Let grief be never so heavy, a woman who
has on her heart and conscience the welfare
of children and household must before very
long rouse herself to her duties, and take up
the burden of life ; and when the first agony of
parting was dulled by time, Mrs. Pinckney set
herself to the work which lay before her.
Happy is it for us mortals that our sight is
even shorter than our lives ! Had this tender
mother known that the separation from her
children was to endure for fourteen years,
could she have borne it ? Her letters are full
of the hope of soon going to them, but circum-
stances made this unadvisable ; and so she went
on from day to day, '* taking," as Sydney Smith
would have advised, " short views," until the
far distant time when they returned to her.
It was no easy task which the young widow
of thirty-six had to assume. Her husband's
property was chiefly in land and negroes in
187
ELIZA PINCKNEY
various localities. " It is a very difficult thing
to manage property in Carolina,". she says in
one place. Fortunately for her, her early ex-
perience and cliarge of her father's estate had
given her unusual knowledge, and her natural
taste for agriculture revived, doubtless to the
benefit of health and spirits. In September,
1759, little more than a year after her hus-
band's death, she returned to her own house,
and soon after w^ent again to Belmont.
She had liere the comfort of congenial com-
panionship, in the presence of Lady Ann Mac-
kenzie, " a pious and sensible young woman,
who is so kind as to stay some time with me."
This lady was one of the daughters of that
Earl of Cromartie w^ho was nearly beheaded
for his participation in the Jacobite rising of
1745.
By the extraordinary efforts of his wife, and
the personal intercession of Frederick, Prince
of Wales, the earl's life had been spared ; but
his title and estates were confiscated, and his
large family scattered. Mr. Drayton of South
Carolina had married one of the daughters
(Lady Mary), while on a visit to England, and
her sister. Lady Ann, accompanied her to Amer-
ica ; she afterwards married the Hon. George
Murray. Their tomb may be seen in the Scotch
churchyard in Charleston. These sisters be-
188
THE INDIAN WARS
came very intimate with Mrs. Pinckncy, and
there is frequent mention of them in her
letters.
At Behnont she found everything suffering
from absence and neglect. " It has gone back
to woods again," she says. But much more
important and more difficult was the care of
the numerous dependants, whose attachment
to her husband she has already mentioned.
Even as a girl Mrs. Pinckney had devoted
much care and attention to the improvement
of her people, not only in the useful arts, but in
moral and religious training. Some she had
tauglit to read, in the hope that they might
teach the others ; she herself on Sundays read
and explained the Bible to them, and taught
them to pray. Her devices for encouraging
them in neatness, morality, and industry she
taught to her children and grandchildren, who
were all honorably known as kind and well-
beloved owners.
It must be remembered that at tliis time
hardly any one entertained the least doubt of
the propriety and necessity of slavery, and the
planters of Virginia and Carolina went among
their people much as their English cousins did
among their peasantry, — a peasantry then not
much more enliglitened and in many respects
much worse off than the southern negroes.
189
ELIZA PINCKNEY
As there was no doubt and no irritation, so
there were none of the restrictive laws which
it was afterwards thought needful to place on
education, etc., and conscientious people did
then- best to transform the cargoes of savages
brought to their doors into the decent, capable
servants whom we remember. Of their won-
derful success it is needless now to tell. In
1861 the men of the Confederacy left their
women and homes in safety under the care of
the Christian people whom they and their
forefathers had rescued from a barbarous
heathenism.
The mistress of a plantation in those days
arose early, like Solomon's virtuous woman,
and her work was much the same. The plan-
tation nurse had the first audience ; advice and
medicines were given, sympathy and personal
visits later in the day. Then came the house-
keeper, and portions were assigned to men and
maids. The planning for the welfare and pro-
viding: for the wants of two or three hundred
people, is no light matter. Where the planta-
tions were scattered, it involved an immense
amount of correspondence on all sorts of mi-
nute points with the overseers. The domestic
economy of the place (quite distinct from the
planting operations) was under the direction
of the mistress, and her presence and influence
190
THE INDIAN WARS
trained and civilized the handmaids, to whom
she taiiglit their various trades. The spinning
and weaving, the cutting and making of clothes,
went on incessantly.
Miss Lucas's letters have shown what the
country could supply her father with. Mrs.
Pinckney continued the same industries. Meat
(bacon) was cured, lard " tried," soap boiled
and candles moulded, sheep shorn and wool
carded. The larder must never be empty, tlie
wood-pile never go down ; the dairy must furnish
butter and cream, the garden vegetables and
fruit. The sick must be visited, the old people
have soup and sugar, the piccaninnies molasses
and " gungers." The writer has seen this work
(with but few alterations) go on, on the planta-
tion of Mrs. Pinckney \s granddaughter, edu-
cated by her. Through three generations from
1740 to 1860 one system had prevailed, and
the answer, " it was always so in my grand-
mother's time," settled every question.
Mr. Pinckney's family was what was called
*^ well left," as his will shows ; but the uncer-
tainty of Colonial affairs was always present to
the mind. In writing to an old friend in
Surrey, " Vigorous Edwards Esq'-" Mrs. Pinck-
ney says of her children, —
*^ As to fortune, he has left them enough, (if it
please God to prosper it and keep this province
191
ELIZA PINCKNEY
out of the liaiids of the French) to make them
happy and useful men if the}' are wise and good
ones, if otherwise, (w?}' God forhid,) the greatest
fortunes w*?. not he sufficient.''
She writes her arrangements fully to her
agent, Mr. Morley : —
^'The heginning of this j^ear there was such
a fine prospect on our plantations of a great crop
y " I was hopeful of clearing all that was due upon
the estate, but the great drought in most parts of
ye Country, such as I never remember here, dis-
apointed those expectations so much, y.*. all that we
make from y^^- planting interest will hardly defray
ye charges of y- plantations; and upon our arrival
here we found they wanted but axQvy thing, and
every way in bad order, with ignorant and dis-
honest overseers.
^'My Nephew had no management of y?. planting
interest, and my^ Brother who had it, by a stroke
of the palsy had been long incapable of all busi-
ness. I thank God there is now a prospect of
things being differently conducted. I have pre-
vailed upon a conspicuous good man (who by liis
industry and honesty has raised a fine fortune for
two orphxan children my dear Mr Pinckney was
guardian to,) to undertake the direction and inspec-
tion of tlie overseers. He is an excellent planter,
a dutchman, originally Servant and overseer to Mr
Golightlj^, who lias been much solicited to under-
take for many Gentlemen, but as he has no family
192
rUE INDIAN WARS
but a wifo, and is comfortable enough in his cir-
cumstances, refuses to do for any but women «&
cliildren, who are not able to do for themselves.
So if it please God to prosper us and send good
Seasons I hope to Clear all next year. I find it
requires great care and attention to attend to a
Carolina Estate, tho' but a moderate one, and to
do one's duty, and make all turn to ace*. I have
as much business of one kind & another as I can go
through; perhaps 'tis better for me, and I believe
it is, had there not been a necessity for it I might
have sunk to the grave by this time, in that Leth-
argy of stupidity w?!^ had seized me.''
There are letters of the same tone to Lady
Carew, Mrs. King, and others, generally too
sad for publication.
Li the mean while, while her own sorrows and
duties had absorbed all of Mrs. Pinckney's atten-
tion, public affairs in the Colony were increas-
ing in gravity. The Indians were threatening
the back settlements, and there is occasionally
a word or two of them, as, — " Our last accounts
from ye Cherokees are more agreeable than
we have had in a great while," etc.
At last the outbreak came. She writes :
To Mr Alorleu ,^ « , -„
^ Nov."-. S-:^ 1759
Dear Sir, — As I wrote you y.«. 19'.'.' of Septf. 't is
not necessary to trouble you again so soon, but I
13 103
ELIZA PINCKNEY
can't resist the temptation of writing to you by a
Man of Warr that will sail immediately. . . . The
papers will inform you of our publick transactions,
and tha;t the Governor with a body of men set out
on fry day ye 26*^ Oct.^ for the Cherokee nation in
order to obtain satisfaction for the murders com-
mitted by them, and make a good peace at the
head of an army, or take satisfaction by carrying the
warr into their own Country; thej^ have been very
insolent and 't is high time they were chastised.
Be so good as to asure my dear boys we think
ourselves very safe in C- Town, or tliey may be
frightened on the rumour of an Indian Warr, My
blessing attend them both, etc etc.
Be so good to forward the inclosed letters to Sir
Richard Lyttelton and Miss Mackartney, as di-
rected in the safest manner possible, and place any
expence attending it to my account. I congratu-
late you on the taking of Quebec, but shall mj^self
more on hearing you and my dear boys are well by
this fleet, (w*"^ Heaven grant I may, for there
all my little remains of earthly happiness is fixt,
when my dear Girl is joyn*?., who is I thank God
a good child and well; she says she can't send her
comp^.t® to such an old gentleman & good friend as
Mr Morley, and begs I would give her duty to you
etc etc
Sent by the Trent Man of Warr Cap. I Lindsay.
That people on the coast should be in any
personal danger from the Cherokee Indians,
194
THE INDIAN WARS
who lived where Greenville and Pendleton are
now, seems ludicrous enough ; but events cast
shadows behind as well as before, and it was
not more than forty years since scalps had been
taken within twenty miles of Charles Town,
when Stono and Goosecreek were raided by the
savages.
Mr. Pinckney had known Governor (after-
wards Lord) Lyttelton officially in England ;
the acquaintance had become friendship in
America ; and Mrs. Pinckney, during the gov-
ernor s absence in "ye Cherokees," seems to
have undertaken to forward his private letters,
as there are frequent notices of packages for-
warded through the obliging Mr. Morley, or
" Mems." like this : —
*' Wrote to his Excellency Gov'. Lyttelton at y^
Cherokees, and informed him I had forwarded
two of his letters to England, by y?. Brigantine
Spy, Cap.'. Lyford, to Bristol/'
From which we must conclude, as Miss Mac-
kartney was the young lady to whom the gov-
ernor was engaged, that he did not wish to
send his love-letters through the Colonial Office.
The anxiety did not at this time last very
long, for in February, 1760, Mrs. Pinckney
writes : —
195
ELIZA PIl\CKNEY
The Hon^}f Mrs King —
Gov-"". Lyttelton with his army are safely re-
turned from their Cherokee Expedition; the first
array that ever attempted to go into that wild
coiintrj'-. They had been ver}^ insolent & com-
mitted many murders and outrages in our back
settlements, nor ever expected white men would
have resolution enough to march up their moun-
tains. Mr Lyttelton has acted with great spirit
and conduct and gained much honour in the affair,
& obtaind from them, what Indians never before
granted, such of the murderers as they could then
take, and Hostages for the rest till they could be
taken. If you have any curiosity to know more
particulars, Mr Morley to whom I enclose it, can
furnish you with the Carolina Gazett.
To Vigorous Edwards EsqT.
We should b}^ this time have been engaged in
an Indian Warr, (the most dreadful of all Warrs)
had our Gov- acted with less judgment and reso-
lution. He marched an army into their Country
and demanded satisfaction at yl head of it for the
murders they had committed, or would take it.
They were much alarmed, pretended it was only
some of their hot headed young men, and not
aproved by the whole. AVould have excused giving
the criminals up by saying the}^ could not be found,
but after some time brouglit some of them in and
gave Hostages for the rest.
A Treaty of Peace and Friendship was concluded
196
THE INDIAN WARS
upon it, and I hope and we have great reason to
believe, we are upon a better footing with those
people than we have been for many years.
These pleasing hopes were fulfilled as little
as such hopes have been but recently. When
was "a Treaty of Peace and Friendship" with
Indians ever observed, and oaths on either side
unbroken ? His contemporaries seem to have
applauded Governor Lyttelton, but subsequent
historians have said that he was high-handed
and injudicious, and provoked rather than ap-
peased the savages. He had not left the Prov-
ince when the trouble was renewed ; and the
scourge of small-pox mentioned in the follow-
ing letter was said to have been brought back
by his troops from the Indian country where it
was raging, — Nemesis in the most loathsome
form : —
March 15 1760.
To Mrs Evance.
A great cloud seems at present to hang over
this province, w^e are continually insulted by the
Indians on our back settlements, and a violent
kind of small pox that rages in C'.? Town almost
puts a stop to all business. Sevral of those I
have to transact business with are fled into the
country, but by the Divine blessing I hope a month
or two will change the prospect; we expect shortly
troops from Gen. I Audierst w'^.'? I trust will be able
197
ELIZA PINCKNEY
to manage these savage enemies; and y?- small-
pox as it does not spread in y?. Country, must be
soon over for want of subjects.
I am now at Belmont to keep my people out of
ye way of ^-e violent distemper, for the poor blacks
have died very fast even by inoculation; but y.^
people in C- Town were inoculation mad, I think
I may call it, and rusW- into it with such presipita-
tion y* I think it impossible they could have had
either a proper preparation or attendance, had there
been 10 Doctors in town to one. The Doctors
could not help it the people would not be said
nay. We lose with this fleet our good Governor
Lyttelton, he goes home in the Trent Man of
Warr, before he goes to his new Government at
Jamaica.
Poor John Motte who was inoculated in Eng-
land, is now very bad with ye small-pox, it could
never have taken then to be sure. [John Motte
recovered, so probably the imperfect inoculation
helped.]
June 19th 1760
I am just going out of town for a little air and
Exercise, having I tliank God finished my superin-
tendancy over a little smallpox Hospital ; a very
small one indeed, as it did not contain more than
15 patients. I lost only one, who took it in y®
natural way.
Your brother Mr J. Raven who comes to Eng-
land for his health, will deliv^er you this . . .
he has been so good to take charge of my dear Mr
198
THE INDIAN WARS
Pinckney's picture w*:!* I send to his children that
y- idea of his person may not wear out of their
Infant minds. I make no doubt they will venerate
even his shadow, and I daresay you will be so good
to give it a place in y.^ parlour for y.! present if 't is
not very inconvenient. I hope to send Mr Morley
another bill this summer, and when 'tis received I
beg ye favour of you to get a decent plain frame
for it. When I am able I shall get it coppy^. by a
better hand than could be got here.
Two copies of this picture of the Chief Jus-
tice, in a very neglige costume of dressing-
gown and velvet cap, such as was held to indi-
cate learned repose, are still in existence.
They show a pleasant, bluff face, dark-eyed
and cheery, with no beauty of feature but a
happy, friendly expression. No likeness of
Mrs. Pinckney is ever known to have been
taken.
The troops sent from General Amherst were
under the command of the gallant Colonel
Montgomery, and mucli- was expected from
them. The disappointment was therefore sore.
^ ,, ,, , Belmont July 19V? 1760
To Mr Morley -^
Our Indian affairs are in a poor way, Col.
Montgomerie at the head of sixteen hundred men —
including rangers, marched into the middle Chero-
kee Country and destroyd five towns, w'^^ raised the
199
ELIZA PINCKNEY
spirrits of the People much ; but while we imagind
he was proceeding to Fort London he began his
march towards C- Town, in order to return to
Geni Amherst, in consequence of whose orders 't is
said he returns. Ye Governor by order of ye
Assembly, has sent to desire his continuing in ye
Nation, we impatiently wait his answer, as we also
do one to an Express sent to Gen.l Amherst. We
have no doubt but the Creeks will soon joyn ye
Cherokees.
Militai'y necessity must be obeyed, and Mont-
gomery went. The Carolinians not unnaturally
thought themselves sacrificed to the Canadian
campaign ; and tlie following letter shows the
jealousy with which the "old Colonies" looked
upon the new conquests which England was
then making to the north.
July —
To the Hon Mrs King —
I had the honour of yours of y ?. 16^'> Feb^. last with
yours and the young ladies XQvy gentile present to
Harriott; 't is a most compleat suit and universally
admired. The fann I think a curiosity, and the
pompon the prettiest we ever saw. The little girl
is quite happy, and the more so as they are the
first that have reacW. this part of the world; so
she has the opportunity of seting the fashion, & I
doubt whether she would part with them to pur-
chase a peace with the Cherokees, who are become
extreamlj^ troublesome to us, nor have the highland
200
THE INDIAN WARS
troops under Col. Montgomerie, (sent by Gen.)
Amherst) done much more than exasperate the
Indians to more cruel revenge, and they are now
about to leave us to the mercy of these Barbarians,
I hope the good people of England won't give all
their superfluous mony away to French prisoners,
or to build foreign Churches, but reserve some for
their poor fellow subjects in America; for if they
go on to make new Conquests in America, and
neglect the protection of their old Colonys they
may soon have importations of distressd people
from the south wardmost part of North America
to exercise their charity upon.
My respectful compliments wait on Mr King,
he obliges me very much by imploying me to get
him Seeds. If tJiere is any kind we have that
escapes me I hope he will be so good as to mention
them. Our tallest trees are Oaks w'^.l' we have of
various sorts, pines and Magnolias, w*'^ in low
moist land such as at Ockham Court, grows to a
very great height, and is a most beautiful tree, as
well 'a's the tall Bay, w^- grows to a prodigious
height. Neither the acorns nor cones are yet ripe
enough to gather or I would have sent them by tliis
ship, but will certainly do so by the first when
they are ripe. . . .
Soon after this letter was written, Mrs.
Pinckney had a very severe illness which con-
fined her to her room for four months. Her
friends wei'e alarmed, and in the kindly fashion
201
ELIZA PINCKNEY
of the place offered their houses for change of
air. One of them, Mrs. Shubrick, the ancestress
of the many gallant sailors of that name, offers
to " send my charriot to bring you in the morn-
ing or if you can venture in a chaise come to
night." She does not seem to liave accepted
the invitations, however ; and when the illness
is over she writes to Lady Carew that she is,
" thanks be to Heaven," better than for three
years before, and from this time, February,
1761, there is perceptibly more cheerfulness in
her tone.
The Indian troubles were not over ; and on
the horrible principle of fighting the devil with
fire, the general sent them some " Mohocks "
to help in the next campaign.
To Mrs King
As soon [after her illness] as I was able I in-
quired how my directions about the Seeds had been
observed, and tho' I had sent positive orders to
three places for diferent sorts they were observed
but at one, poor Mr Drayton had also promised me
a large quantity of Magnolia and Bay seed, but he
was taken ill about the same time that I was and
died. I am a good deal mortified at the disap-
pointment as there will be a year lost by it, but
please God I live this year I will not only send the
seeds but plant a nursery and send you plants 2
year old, and I think I know a method that will
202
THE INDIAN WARS
preserve the trees very well, by w*:!" means you will
save 2 if not 3 years growth for I believe a tree
will grow as much in 2 years here as in 4 or 5 in
England . . .
Our hopes and expectations are a good deal raised
by the great fleet w':^ we are told is bound from
England for America this Spring. We flatter
ourselves they will take the Mississippi in their
way, w':^ if the}^ succeed in must put an end to all
our Indian Warrs, as they could never molest us if
ye french from thence did not supply them with
arms and ammunition.
Our army has marchd for the Cherokee Nation,
they consist of regular troops and Provincials, 't is
a disagreable Service, but they have this to com-
fort them, whether they are successful or other-
ways they may be pretty sure of gathering Laurels
from the bounty of the English news writers, for
after y*' encomiums upon ye last Cherokee Expedi-
tion, there surely can nothing be done there that
don't merrit praise !
If y?. 50 Mohocks arrive safe that we expect
from Gen}. Amherst I hope we shall be able to
quell those Barbarians, for the Mohocks are very
fine men, (five of them are here now,) and they
are lookd upon by y^ rest of y.^. Indians with
dread and respect, for they think them the greatest
warriors in the world.
Many thanks to good Mr King for my beer,
w*:^ came in very good order, and is extreamly
good, 'tho it had a very long voyage and went first
203
ELIZA PINCKNEY
to Lisbon. My comp'?.*^ wait on my Lady & Lord
King & the young Ladies. Harriott is out of town
with Lady Mary Drayton, & don't know when the
fleet sails or would do herself the honour to write
to Miss Wilhelmina.
By the time that this last campaign (which
was commanded by Colonel Grant) had begun,
things had come to an evil pass. The governor
then, however, was a native Carolinian, William
Bull, — a man of spirit and energy ; at his call
the Province, no longer relying upon the regular
troops, gathered itself for a supreme effort and
raised men and money to its utmost resources.
The Provincials, mentioned by Mrs. Pinckney
in a letter to Mrs. King, were formed into a regi-
ment commanded by Colonel Thomas Middleton,
of the distinguished family of the same name.
In this " very disagreeable service " Moultrie,
Marion, Pickens, and many other gentlemen
who were to win reputation in the Revolution
made their first campaign.
They had a very different experience from
Lyttelton's bloodless expedition. The Indians
fought with desperation ; it was said that French
officers in disguise directed their movements.
The troops suffered from the nature of the
country, as well as from the enemy. Many
were killed, and their bodies were sunk in the
river, as, had they been buried, the Indians
204
THE INDIAN WxiRS
would have dug up and scali)ed the corpses.
The woods through whicli the pursuit went
were thick and tangled. The wi-iter has heard
her grandmother say that her father described
himself and his comrades as having their own
and their horses' flesh mangled and torn, as
they pressed through the thorny vines. In the
end they were successful. The Indian towns
and villages were laid waste ; horrible cruel-
ties were no doubt inflicted, for among the
Provincials were the survivors of many In-
dian outrages ; and at last the warriors sued for
peace.
There were meetings and conferences. The
leading chief, Attakullakulla, and Governor
Bull, made speeches and smoked pipes, terms
and boundaries were agreed upon, and the land
had rest for fifteen years.
As generally happens when regular and
irregular troops act together, there were dis-
sensions. Grant accused the Provincials of
insubordination; and Middleton, denying the
charge, wrote a pamphlet in defence of the
conduct of his men.
But whether the charge were just or unjust,
a lesson had been taught — and learned. It was
not subordination that the colonists needed, but
independence and self-reliance. When Mont-
gomery sailed away to new conquests, leaving
205
ELIZA PINCKNEY
the " old Colonys " to keep their own bounds,
and when the Provincials found that they
could share the victory with Grant's hardy
veterans, it was but one step more to keep-
ing their bounds alone, and keeping them for
themselves.
206
XI
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
1760-1762
The next few years passed uneventfully for
]\rrs. Pinckney and her family. She had some
anxiety on account of the health of her younger
boy, to whom there are loving messages ; in
writing to Mrs. Evance, she says, —
^^It was very good in you to take my dear little
creature to Bath, he gives a proof how well he
knows his Mama, when he says he knows she will
not be angry with you for giving him pleasure,
but tell the dear saucy Boy one scrip of a penn from
his hand, would have given his Mama more joy
than all y^ pleasures of Bath could him.''
And again : — •
**My blessing attend my dear little man, and
tell him how much pleasure it gives bis Mama
to see his little scrawl, if 't is but in writing his
The scrawl improved, for in a letter to the
teacher, Mr. Gerrard, she says, —
207
ELIZA PINCKNEY
" My blessings and prayers ever attend my dear
Children. I am much pleased with their letters,
Charles has long wrote well, but no one but my-
self will believe that Tomm wrote one of those
signd with his name, the writing is so much be-
yond what the}^ think a child of his age caj^able of,
but I know his brother wrote as well at his age and
tell my dear little boy I don't imagine he will come
short of his brother or any body else, in anything
that is good and laudable."
It is touching to see how early this good
mother begins to impress on her eldest son
that he must soon be the head of the family,
and as such protect and cherish the younger
children. "I will do all that I can," she says,
" but on you all must soon depend ; " and to
the little boy, to wdiom she is very tender, it is
always an exhortation to follow in his brother's
footsteps, — to " do like him."
The mutual obligations so inculcated they
never forgot ; the closest friendship always
united them, and their devotion to their sister
was unbounded. The writer has heard that
in discussing the abolition of the law of primo-
geniture, after the Revolution, General Thomas
Pinckney said that the changed condition of
things had evidently made it necessary to abol-
ish the law, but that he himself (the younger
son) had received much good from its moral
208
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
effect. " I never felt myself as fatherless as I
should liave done, had I not had my brother to
look to as an authority, and he always felt
a paternal responsibility towards me, when wo
were alone at school."
The brothers had been removed from Mr.
Gerrard's to a school at Kensington, which it
was hoped would agree better with the little
boy's health ; but the elder did not remain there
more than a year, for as he would soon " be
turned of fifteen," it was time for him to be at
Westminster. His mother writes, —
To C. C. P. ^^^^ ^'^^^
'T is with the greatest satisfaction ray dear
Charles that I acknowledge the receipt of yT. letter
by Mr Smith. You have my best thanks my dear
boy for the comfort and pleasure that letter gave
me, w*:!^ I do assure you was not a little. I, and
some of our friends here that I have consulted
think it high time you were fitted for the Uni-
versity; of all the Publick schools Westminster I
think is to be preferred, and therefore should
choose you should go there. Master Tomm Evance's
going to Warrington would be a great inducement
to yr. going there also, but I tliink the distance you
must then be from your dear brother will be too
great; besides I am informd the Business of that
school is to fitt young Gent*:^ for the Ministry, and
as you are not to be brought up to the Church, it
14 209
ELIZA PINCKNEY
will not do so well for you. Harrow, I think can
hardly be called a publick school, and as Doct!". Thack-
eray is dead I don't think of that; others advise
rather to a private Tutor than any publick school.
There is indeed an objection to all publick schools,
and a great one if 't is true that the Morrals of
Youth are taken little care of; but I have so good
an oppinion of your sobriety and modesty, and
flatter myself you have rather a serious than wild
turn of mind, that I hope I may venture to trust
you to Westminster, without running any risk of
what must be fatal to me as well as to yourself, viz.*.
corrupt principles; for be asured ray dear Child, I
would not hesitate a moment were it in my choice
whether I would have you a learned man with every
accomplishment, or a good man, without any; but
as I hope you will be both I commit you to the Di-
vine Protection and guidance ... it will require
your utmost vigilance to watch over your passions
as well as your constant attendance at the Throne
of Grace; be particularly watchful against heat of
temper, it makes constant work for repentance and
chagrine, and is often productive of the greatest
mischiefs and misfortunes, . . .
^T is with the utmost reluctance that I think of
separating you from your dear Brother tho' the dis-
tance is so small I doubt not you will often see him.
In April of the same year she wrote again :
''I received 3'our dutiful and affectionate letter
by Ball, who alsoe brought me a very pretty one
210
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
from my dear little Tomm, for w»^ I tliank you
both most heartily. In your letter you mention
going to the Charter House. I own I prefer, and
most people I know do, Westminster, and in answer
to what you say of being nearer to Mrs Evance's
care at y^ Charter House, I think if a youth for
his own sake will not be careful of his conduct,
two or three mile distant from his guardians, I
fear all the pains they ma}'- take a little nearer
will be ineffectual.
^Trom you my dear Child I hope better things
for tho' you are very young, you must know the
welfair of a whole family depends in a great mea-
sure on the progress you make in morral Virtue,
Keligion and Learning, and I don't doubt but the
Almighty will give jow. Grace to answer all our
hopes. If you do your part, in order to which
endeavour to fort i fie yourself against those Errors
into w':^ you are most easily led by propensity.
What I most fear for you is heat of temper. ..."
Charles Cotesworth accordingly went to
Westminster ; his brother followed him four
years later ; and both satisfied their mother's
fondest hopes, becomino; excellent scholars
and receiving uniformly the highest praise for
conduct and character from masters and tutors.
" Little Tomm " became the " Grecian " of his
year at Westminster, and therefore " Cap-
tain of the Town Boys," and is said to have
211
ELIZA PINCKNEY
been the only American who ever held that
position.
Satisfied about her sons, their mother could
devote herself with an easy mind to her
daughter, and to her favorite pursuits. Of her
daughter she writes : —
[Address Wanting.]
*^ Your little fellow traveller, who is very much
obliged for your kind remembrance of her, is I thank
God, perfectly well, has her usual spirrits and grows
tall; she will write to you herself and return you
thanks for the books you were so good to send her.
She is fond of learning, and I indulge her in it;
it shall not be my fault if she roams abroad for
amusement, as I believe 't is want of knowing how
to imploy themselves agreeably, that makes many
women too fond of going abroad."
In writing to Mrs. King, she says of her
daughter, —
^^ Harriott writes to Miss Wilhemina by this
opportunity, and I am greatl}'^ obliged to that
young lady for the pretty manner in which she
conveys advice to her, w?^ (especially to one of
Harriotts lively disposition) will be more service-
able, than graver lectures might be from older
people, besides her great fondness, (in which she
is very constant,) to Miss W. K."
One of Miss King's letters has been pre-
served. Girls in those days grew up fright-
212
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
fully fast, marriages at fourteen being not
uncommon (though Mrs. Pinckney did not
approve them ) ; but this strikes us at the
present time as a curious letter to be addressed
to a little damsel of twelve : —
From Miss King to Miss Pinckney.
OcKHAM Court Octr. 19 1760
My Sister desires her best Compts. to yself ^ Mrs
Pinckney
My dear Miss Pinckney, — I was made happy
with the receipt of your last favour, dated y.! 25^.^
of Marcli, and am quite ashamed to find I must
begin this with Condemning myself, in hopes you
will upon that Consideration, deal more kindly with
me. Indeed my dear Harriott must think me very
remiss, but flatter myself you will forgive this
once, when I declare it has not been in the least
owing to Neglect or Forgettfullness, but have
been absent from home four months this Summer,
which I have had the pleasure of spending with
my Friend Miss Upton, at her house Strood, in
Sussex, a very pretty retired place; and could I
have found time to have done myself this pleasure,
I would have addressed myself out of the Wealds of
Sussex, as my Harry did out of those remoter ones
of America. But being upon rambling party's,
and either only us two or a houseful of company,
it made it impossible for me to give my friends
that proof of my remembrance of tlieni that they
had a right to expect etc etc etc —
21.3
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Mama writes by this opportunity to Mrs Pinck-
ney, so take for granted She will mention all State
News; as for any private, the World is so taken up
with the Publick, that we hardly hear any of that
Sort. We have lost the Celebrated Countess of
Coventry, who 'tho so young a woman, lived to be
Blind and Deaf, and so emmaciated that her Dearest
friends looked upon it as a happy Deliverance when
Death releaved her. Her sister the Duchess of
Hamilton is going to f ranee, to try if that will
prevent her going the same way. She is very Bad.
The deaths of Ladys Besborough, Granby, Lincoln
and Anson, are great Warnings to the Gay part of
the World, who saw them in a manner T>yQ before
them their Illness was so short; but Gaity and
E-eflection seldom go together, at least in London
Town. I make no doubt but they often meet in
America, & imagine I see them in full force in
Miss Pinckney. But my dear, I expect a long
letter very soon, for in Mrs Pinckney's last she
mentioned something of that Kind, and then in
return will tell 3^ou that we are here pretty much,
the same as you left us excepting so much older.
Mrs Bonney has five fine children. Mrs Onslow
having her Colonel taken from her to go to Ger-
many, is gone with her daughter to old Mrs Onslow
at Cookham. Mrs Chattfield & her family are in
statu-quo, only being a Doctress, liked very lately
to have killed herself, by taking a wrong medicine
by mistake, but is now quite recovered, and I hope
wiser by Experience.
214
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
Having now given you a true state of affairs
round Ilippley must, time being short, Conclude
myself my dear Harriott's most Sincere and Con-
stant Friend and Well Wisher
WiLIIELMINA KlXG
Pra}^ make my best compliments acceptable to
Mrs Pinckney, & my correspondent, who I fancy
has outgrown me.
Public news soon became very interesting,
for old King George II. died suddenly one
morning when no one in the least expected it,
and the young King — the first English king
for three generations — reigned in his stead.
People said that the once beautiful Countess of
Coventry, had she known how soon the King
would die, would have contrived to live a little
longer, for she had been so maladroit as to tell
the old man some time before " that the one
sight she most wished to see was a Corona-
tion." Old George only laughed : the lovely
Gunning could say anything; but he lived
long enough to disappoint her.
George HI. soon gratified his enthusiastic
subjects with a coronation and a royal wed-
ding to boot, — news greeted joyously even in
the " southwardest parts of America." Mrs.
Pinckney wrote : —
215
ELIZA PINCKNEY
To Mrs King. ^""^^ l^'^^
How my dear Madam could you think of this
remote spott, in the midst of the splendour of
royal Weddings, Coronations, Gay Courts, and all
the chearfulness that follows in their trains ? You
can't think how many people you have gratified by
your obliging me with so particular a description
of the Queen. We had no picture of her Majesty,
nor description that could be depended upon, till
I received your favour, and what was excessively
provoking, the few friends that wrote to me, did
not doubt but that I had had a description of the
Queen and Coronation from others, and therefore
was most mortifyingly silent. If Madam, you have
ever been witness to the impatience of the people
of England about a hundred mile from London, to
be made acquainted with what passes there, you
may guess a little at what an impatience is here,
when I inform you that the curiosity increases
with the distance from the Centre of affairs, and
our impatience is not to be equal 'd ^vith any peo-
ples within less than four thousand mile.
Lady Ann Atkin happen*^, to be with me when
I rec*^ your favour. I told her as she was a lady
of Quality she should be first treated with a de-
scription of her Majesty, but not a Plebeian out of
my own family' should hear a word of the matter
that day. In half an hour after I was favoured with
a vizet from our new Governor Mr Boone, lately
arrived here from his former Government in the
216
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
Jersejs, who I found, (tlio' he has an extensive
good acquaintance in England,) knew as little of
ye new Queen as we did here, I had the pleasure
to read him also the description, and the next day
numbers received the same sort of pleasure, all
smiled at least at the new fashiond name for the
colour of her hair, w*:!' indeed I should not have
guessed at, had you not been so obliging to tell me
what it was ; upon the whole I am a verj^ loyal
subject, and had my share of joy in ye agreable
account of my Sovereign and his Consort. . . .
I hope the seeds I now send Mr King will
arrive safe and in good order — - The seed of the
flowering shrub I now send Miss Kings I found
wild in the woods, and have named it the Royal
Purple, its colours are gold and purple, but if
they chuse to alter it in honour of the Queen or
any thing else, I have no objection.
I can't conceive how such an improlJable story
as ray going to be married could be invented here,
and promulgated to such a distance as Ripley,
though very small appearances give rise to those
things in this part of the world, and upon recollec-
tion I sopose it must arise from an offer I had
about that time, w'^.^ in point of fortune must have
been to ray advantage, but as entering into a second
raarriage never once entered my head, and as little
into my inclination, and I am persuaded never will,
the affair took not a moment's hesitation to deter-
mine, and indeed I did not think it could have got
air enough to have wafted it to England.
217
ELIZA PINCKNEY
The obliging Maimer in w-.^ you mention my
dear Charles is very Hattering to me. He must
disapoint my hopes of his Judgement greatly if he
does not make use of every opportunity you are so
good to allow him, of improving so valuable an
acquaintance.
When my dear Mad'" shall we have Peace?
Till then I have little prospect of seeing my Chil-
dren and friends in England, and a Spanish warr
we are now told is inevitable ; we are prett^^ quiet
here just now but 'tis much feared it will continue
no longer than the winter. We never was so taxed
in our lives, but what is our taxes to yours !
However we are but a young Colony and our Seas
do not throw up sands of gold, as surely the Brit-
ish does to enable 3^ou to bear such prodigious
Expenses.
These were certainly loyal hearts which the
young sovereign was so soon to throw away.
The poor little Queen — to be the most un-
happy and sorely tried of devoted wives —
could not by any powers of description be made
lovely. '' Very agreable " is the best that can
be said, — even at the distance of four thou-
sand miles.
Mrs. Pinckney also sent her friend two of
the most distinctive Carolinian plants, — the
sweet myrtle, which scents the woods through-
out the coast regions, and bears the wax-pro-
218
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIEXDS
ducing berries from whicli pale-green candles
are^ made ; and also one which she curiously
miscalls.
^*I thought the jilants you received w- he a
pretty ornament for my Lord's Greenhouse. 'Tis
the Pimento Royal and hears the most noble bunch
of flowers I ever saw. The main stem of the bunch
is a foot and a half or two foot long, with some
Imndreds of white flowers hanging pendant upon
it; 't is a native of this Country, but I doubt if it
will do out of doors in England."
By this she evidently means the Palmetto
Royal, the very appropriate local name of
which is the " Spanish Bayonet," so called
from the sharp, hard, dagger-like point formed
by its terminal leaves. A spire of these ivory
bells, rising from the encircling spikes and
filling the air with heavy almond fragrance,
is indeed a beautiful, picturesque object.
Sneers at female friendship are most common,
but Mrs. Pinckney, like the lovely Madame
R^camier, might be said to have " a genius for
friendship " : she was so fortunate as not
only to feel, but to inspire it ; in almost every
letter that she writes to her English friends,
she acknowledges the receipt of two or three
from them, and evidently the correspondence
was not more sought by her than by them.
219
ELIZA PINCKNEY
This from Englisli ladies and gentlemen, most
of them of a rank supei'ior to her own (and
rank was a thing of value in those days), and
to a person from whom they had nothing to
gain, and in a remote part of the world, shows
how much her own personal qualities must
have influenced them.
The following letters show this side of her
character. The first is to her old and trusted
friend,
Mr Morley, Somerset House.
I received your favours of ye 27*- Jany & 17-
Eeby with ye greatest possible pleasure, for 'tho
many have reason, none can have more to rejoyce
at 3^onr perfect recovery than myself, and I pray
that the Almighty may long continue you in per-
fect health a blessing to me and mine and the
rest of y."". friends. ... If you knew the pleasure
the sight of your handwriting gives to my whole
famil}^, I am sure you w- never regret the trouble
you are att in writing frequently to me. Some of
the very Slaves know y- hand and rejoj^ce to see
a letter directed by jow, they know it will put
their Mistress in great good humour, and consi-
quently make everything around her as hapj^y as
she can.
Mr. Morley's letters, always bringing news
of her sons, were of especial value to her. To
her oldest English friend she writes of the
same precious boys : —
220
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
To Lady Carew —
Why my dear Madam do you give yourself so
much trouble with my rough school boys? They
are indeed with their Sister the darlings of my
heart, the subjects of my daily thoughts and nightly
dreams, but a 'Miow doo '' now and then would
give them and me sufficient honour and much
pleasure ; but I can't think without blushing of
your Ladyship troubling yourself with them at
home, for we all know what children are, es-
pecially schoolboys — the best of them must be
troublesome.
Lady Carew's daughter had died only about
a year before this letter was written, so that
it was doubly kind of her to have the boys at
Beddington.
Other friends w^ere the Onslows, important
people in Surrey, the head of the family being
for a long time Speaker of the House of Com-
mons. Mrs Pinckney closes a letter to Mrs.
Onslow as follows : —
^^lam glad Colonel Onslow takes pleasure in his
garden; I think it an innocent and delightful
amusement. I have a little Hovel [Belmont !]
about 5 mile from town, quite in a forest where I
find much amusement 4 or 5 months in the year,
and where I have room enough to exercise my
Genius that way, if I had anv; however I please
myself and a few that are partial to me. I am
221
ELIZA PINCKNEY
myself head gardener and I believe work innch
harder than most principal ones. We found it in
ruins when we arrived from England, so that we
have had a wood to clear, and indeed it was laid
out in the old taste, so that I have been modern-
izing it w*^" has afforded me much imployment.
''Being a sort of enthusiast in my Veneration
for fine trees, I look upon the destroyers of Pyr-
ford Avenue as sacriligious Enemies to posterity,
and upon an old oak with the reverencial Esteem
of a Druid, it staggered my philosophy to bear
with patience the Cuting down one remarkable
fine tree, w*^!? was directed by an old man by mis-
take, and I could not help being very angry with
the old fellow tho' he had never offended me before.
Indeed it was planted by my dear Mr Pincknej^'s
own hand, w*^- made it doubly mortifying. What
must Col?. Onslows vexation — or Philosophy, be,
if he loves trees but half as well as I do, to see so
many fallen, probably planted b}'- some of his
Ancestors."
Of all her correspondents there was no one
whom Mrs. Pinckney valued more highly than
Mr. Keate, a literary man, the author of several
now forgotten books. He Avas then much
esteemed, and The Pelew Islands and other
works, bound in calf, occupied an honorable,
— and untroubled — place on the plantation
bookshelves until recent years. He was also
a traveller, and a member of the friendly circle
222
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
in Surrey. This gentleman had been very
kind in writing;, in noticing the boys, and in
sending books to the little Harriott. To him
Mrs. Pinckney, after excusing her own si-
lence, wrote, in February, 1762, the following
letter : —
"Mr Morley informd me you were so kind to
give him a letter for me, w'=.'> he inclosed with some
others from my friends, and forwarded by the Bri-
tannia, but unluckily for me she was taken by the
french, and I lost my packet. I regret the loss
so much that I look upon myself as one of the
greatest sufferers by the Capture, for those that
had their wealth on board were insured, while I
lie entirely at your mercy to make me amends.
'^What great doings you have had in England
since I left it! You people that live in the great
world in the midst of Scenes of entertainment and
pleasure abroad, of improving studies and polite
amusement at home, must be very good to think
of your friends in this remote Corner of the Globe.
I really think it a great virtue in you, and if I
could conceal the selfish principle by w^^ I am actu-
ated I could with a better grace attempt to persuade
you that there is so much merrit in seting down at
home and writing now and then to an old woman
in the Wilds of America, that I believe I should
take you off an hour sometimes from attending
[illegible] and the other gay scenes you frequent.
*'How different is the life we live here ! vizeting
223
ELIZA PINCKNEY
is the great and almost the only amusement of late
years; however as to my own particular, I live
agreeable enough to my own taste, as much so as
I can separated from m}'^ dear boys.
^'I love a garden and a book, and they are all
my amusement, except I include one of the greatest
businesses of my life, (my attention to my dear
little girl,) under that article. A pleasure it cer-
tainly is to cultivate the tender mind, to teach the
young Idea how to shoot, etc especially to a mind
so tractable, and a temper so sweet as hers; for I
thank God I have an excellent soil to work upon,
and by the Divine Grace hope the fruit will be
answerable to my indeavours in yf. cultivation.
^'I know not how to thank you sufficiently for
your notice and yonx kindness to my poor boys,
but if my prayers are pius enough to reach Heaven,
you and yours are secure of every blessing, for I
make none with more sincerity and devotion, than
those that are offered for them and their friends.
^*If you won't think me romantick I will com-
municate a scheme I have, if I live a few years
longer; not merely for the pleasure of scribbling
a long letter, but because I really want your
opinion and advice upon it; as your residence in
Geneva must make you more ca2)able of judging cf
the matter, than those that never were there.
''Upon a Peace, (for T can't think of crossing
the great Atlantic before that desirable time,) I
intend to see England again, and after Charles has
been two years at Oxford to go with my two bo^^s to
224
LETTERS TO ENGLISH FRIENDS
finish their studies at Geneva. I must determine
upon my plan before I leave this, be so good there-
fore, at your leasure to tell me what you think of
it. Harriott pays her Comp- ; she is much engaged
just now with Geography and Musick, and 'tis
high time to disengage your attention from this
tedious Epistle by assuring you, " etc. etc.
15 225
XII
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
1762-1769
With the words ending the hist cliapter the
letter-book stops abruptly. Wliy, we do not
know, for tlicre are many blank pages. All
the peo})lc of whom we have been reading —
the Kings, Mr. Morley, Lady Carew, etc. — fade
from sight. Tlieir letters have not been pre-
served ; j)robably they were burned wnth the
Chief Justice's papers at Auckland by Provost.
Lady Carew died within the next few years,
Sir Nicholas had no direct heir, and Bedding-
ton is now a female orphan asylum. The Revo-
lution probably broke off many friendships, and
loosened tics of blood itself; but while Mrs.
Pinckney's sons remained in England, Ihey
continued to receive every mark of kindness
and consideration from her friends.
Little has hitherto been said of society in
Charles Town, and in truth there is hardly any
mention of it in the letters : they are the re-
verse of gossii)ing, and the retired life natural
226
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
to the writer's widowed condition is frequently
mentioned ; but now that that lively young
lady, Miss Harriott Pinckney, was growing up,
things changed somewhat; and in such letters
as we have, there is from this time forward
more frequent mention of friends and neighbors.
Across all the years there come half a dozen
little three-cornered notes, invitations to the
country many of them, — " Governor Lyttelton
will wait on the ladies at Belmont ; " *' Mrs.
Drayton begs the pleasure of your company to
spend a few days ; " Lady Ann Atkin (wife of the
Commissioner for Indian Affairs), invites them
urgently to spend the day; "Lord and Lady
Charles Montagu's Comp'? to Mrs and ^liss
Pinckney, and if it is agreable to them shall
be glad of their Company at the Lodge ; " " Mrs
Glen presents her Comp'?. to Mrs Pinckney and
Mrs Hyrne, hopes they got no Cold, and begs
Mrs Pinckney will detain Mrs Ilyrne from go-
ing home till Monday, and that they (together
with Miss Butler and the 3 young Lady's) will
do her the favour to dine with her on Sun-
day," etc., etc., — all showing an easy social
life.
We know that by this time, notwithstanding
the drawbacks of the war and the new taxes
left by the Indian campaigns, the Province
was wealthy and the society gay and cultivated.
227
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Mrs. Pinckney had many sympathizers in her
love for plants and flowers ; for besides the dis-
tinguished botanist, Dr. Garden, already men-
tioned, Mrs. Logan, the daughter of Governor
Daniel (the last of the Proprietary Governors),
was writing her Gardener's Calendar, and
only two squares from her own house, the rich
merchant, Henry Laurens (afterwards Presi-
dent of the first Continental Congress), was
filling his extensive grounds with every rare
plant and shrub which his numerous commer-
cial connections enabled him to collect.
Literature received its share of attention.
A club begun by the Rev. Dr. Clarke, Rector
of St. Michael's, and the Rev. Dr. Hutson of
the Independent Church (Mrs. Chardon's hus-
band), stimulated the gentlemen to read and
discuss the books with which they were sup-
plied from the bookshop of Robert Wells, who
for twenty-five years before the Revolution im.-
ported " regularly and early " the new publi-
cations.
This club met once a montli at the houses
of the different members, among whom were
clergymen of three different denominations ; it
is an instance of the liberality of the religious
feeling which prevailed that their meetings
always began with a short prayer offered by
one or other of these gentlemen, and that
228
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
religious or literary topics previously agreed
upon were discussed " without loss of har-
mony."
The old Provincial Library, founded in 1700,
was still in existence ; and the Charles Town
Library, founded in 1754, was described by
Josiali Quincy, on his visit to Charles Town in
1773, as a " handsome, square, spacious room,
containing a large collection of very valuable
books, prints, globes etc."
It is curious that among such a gay and
pleasure-loving people as the same acute ob-
server declares the Carolinians to liave been,
there was no permanent theatre. Plays had
been represented on especial occasions, and
there is mention of one "in the Court Room"
as early as 1734. Two years later, " the new
theatre in Dock S.!" (now Queen Street) is men-
tioned, and a party of comedians from London
play Cato, The Fair Penitent, etc. There
were other attempts later, but they all fell
through, and it was not until 1793 that, as the
venerable artist, Charles Fraser, says, in his
Reminiscences of Charleston, " all classes of
the community were enchanted by the repre-
sentations " which took place in the first per-
manent " Charleston Theatre," — a handsome
building which stood for years at the corner of
Broad and New Streets. This was yet far in
229
ELIZA PINCKNEY
the future, and the failure is remarkable consid-
ering the character of the people.
Social associations were more successful.
There is frequent mention of the " Dancing-
Assembly," which Quincy says had ''bad music,
good dancing, and elegantly disposed supper ; "
and the St. Cecilia Society began its long and
joyous existence in 1762. It was originally a
musical club, all the performers being amateurs,
gentlemen of the town. Of it Quincy says :
<^The music was good, the two bass-viols and
French horns were grand. There were upwards of
two hundred and fifty ladies present, and it was
called no great number. In loftiness of headdress
these ladies stoop to the daughters of the North;
in richness of dress surpass them. . . . The gen-
tlemen, many of them dressed with richness and
elegance uncommon with us ; many with swords
on."
These concerts were gradually changed to
the ball-giving society of the present time, the
name preserving the memory of its origin.
Into this pleasant and lively society Mrs.
Pinckney now introduced her daughter, who
had been educated, as has been said, entirely
at home under her own eye, strongly resem-
bling her mother in character, and yet with
those subtle differences which the generations
2r.o
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
The young lady was very pretty ; her por-
trait, taken at eighteen, now, alas ! destroyed,
sliowed a slender, graceful figure, taller than
her mother (who, indeed, was small), a lovely
complexion, blue eyes, and soft, curling, fair
hair. The only likeness remaining, a minia-
ture by Malbone, taken in middle life, shows
that she had retained her beauty ; and family
tradition adds that her voice v/as charming,
and that her arms and hands were extremely
fine.
Suitors naturally presented themselves before
long, and the following letters from the young
lady show the first indications of the preference
which resulted in marriage. They are written
to a friend, a connection of the gentleman in
question, who was evidently something of a
match-maker, and helped to fan the flame.
Jan?, ye 14t^ 1767
My dear Miss E., — Tho' Wollaston has
summon'd me to-day to put the finishing stroke to
my Shadow which streightens me for time, I can't
help sending a line (as Mr Tom Horry informs
me there is an opportunity to Santee tomorrow,)
to acknowledge your kind favour and very hand-
some present. The Pincushion is very pretty, and
the Housewife a beauty, but the richness and ele-
gance of it will make it useless to me.
231
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Many thanks to you my good friend and to
Mr Horry for y?. Justice you do me in contradicting
so injurious an opinion as that of my being fonder
of people of Quality, than of others of Merit. I
have somehow, accidentally been flung in their way,
Lady Charles [Lady Charles Montagu, the wife
of the governor of the time] has show'd me every
mark of condescending Tenderness and regard ; her
partiallity for me has been uncommon, but if peoj^le
were to consider that it is not owing to any merit
in me, but to accidental circumstances, such as
being within a few years of her own age, the near-
ness of Neighbourhood, etc, I should attract less
envy, and have an easier part to act than I at
present have. . . .
I daresay if my Mamma knew that it would
be (as you sa}'-) a pleasure to Mr to vizet her
often, she would not be backward in asking him to
do so.
You say very truly there is but one state of
life I could be happier in, & I find you are for
hurrying me into it as fast as you can by limiting
me to a year ! I am greatly obliged to you for
your good wishes on that head. Am I not an
honest girl for allowing I may be happier, and
thanking you for wishing me so ; but how can you
fill a poor girl's head with conquests she has never
made, and flatter her with notions merely ideal ?
With much greater certainty I can asure you of
Mama's and my best wishes for many happy
returns of this season, etc., etc.
232
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
Again she writes to the same person : —
''Tho' I little deserve it as I have a most kind
and friendly letter from dear Miss R unan-
swered, I had some faint hopes of a line from her
by Mrs Motte. I should be more punctual in my
Gorrispondence did I know of more opportunities
to Santee, but Mr Horry is the only one I can
depend upon.
^'I should be sorry to behave with any particu-
lar reserve to Mr Horry. If I have done so I can't
account for it, I never intended it, and am not
conscious I ever did, however shall endeavour to
rectifie it for the future. In answer to y- question
which of ye gentlemen is likely to succeed with
Miss Golightly; I believe it is past a doubt with
every body that Mr Huger is ye object of her
affections; but her friends are so averse to it at
j^resent, I can't say whether he will succeed or not.
The world says before he offered Mr Horry had
good reason to believe he should succeed, but this
/ know nothing of, for as the Town compli-
mented me with being the object of his attachment
was I to ask questions, it would be taken notice of,
& animadverted upon. ... I am glad you like
the Books, I own I admire them & think a young
woman of his forming a fine model to coppy after,
and tho' I can never hope to arrive at the perfec-
tion recommended in those Books, I shall read
them frequently with pleasure, happy if I can
catch in any great degree some of the many Virtues
he recommends."
283
ELIZA PINCKNEY
There is no clew to the name of the books
or of their author, but they can hardly have
been by any other than " the great Mr Rich-
ardson."
The next letter is to the young lady spoken
of above, — Miss Golightly, the belle of the mo-
ment. She was the daughter of an English fam-
ily now extinct in Carolina, who had long been
friends of Mrs. Pinckney. It may be remem-
bered that it was in their hospitable home that
Mrs. Pinckney and her daughter had spent some
months after the Chief Justice's death.
It was one of the romantic stories that used
to be told, as an instance of how even in that
formal age " love would find out the way," that,
her family being averse to the man of her heart,
Miss Golightly at a ball one night picked up a
straw hat which chanced to be lying on a bench,
and, with no more preparation, stepped out of
the long window into the garden and ran away
to be married with Mr. Huger.
Why her family had objected is not clear, for
Mr. Huger, although not rich, was a man of
position and character. The adventurous bride
did not live very long, poor thing! but died,
leaving one son. A lovely picture of her, with
the straw hat hanging from her arm, is still in
the possession of her descendants. Her hus-
band married again, and it was at his planta-
234
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
tion, at the mouth of the Santee, that Lafayette
lauded ou his first comiug to America. lu the
Revolutiou he was killed by mistake by his own
mcu, before the Hues of Charles Town ; and it
was his son (by his second marriage), afterwards
Colonel Francis Kinloch Iluger, who risked
death and imprisonment to rescue Lafayette
from the dungeons of Olmutz.
The long intimacy between the families war-
ranted the following letter : —
My dear Dolly, — Mama sends you this
piece of advice. Guard ivell your heart till you
are sure you have ye favoured swain's in Possession.
Let neither Comet nor blazing stars dazzle your
Eyes; the Beauties that you are to seek are inter-
nal ones, therefore you are to penetrate deeper, look
through ye glitter and ye glare till you find that
inestimable jewel a virtuous human heart, that will
glitter with undiminished rays when ye brightness
of gold is tarnish'd, and ye lustre of the diamond
shall fail; however, you know I am not such an
enemy to a fine coat to persuade you ladies that
grow towards marriageable, to dislike a pretty fel-
low the worse for wearing one, but I should wish
it ye last attraction, if it were one at all, and in-
deed I think it is the least so in your darling.
Your wakening thoughts I know will help ye
magical powers of ye Bride cake T send, to bring
yf. favourite object to your View in Sleep.
235
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Your Commands to ye best of my power shall
be punctually obeyed by
My dear friend
Yours affectionately
Harriott Pinckney
To Miss GoUghtly.
The next letter is so gay and girlish that it
is given as a specimen of light-hearted gossip.
It is to Miss Izard, the daughter of Ealph
Izard, Esq., of the distinguished Carolina fam-
ily of that name. Among Miss Izard's sisters
were Mrs. Blake of Newington (her husband
a descendant of Governor Blake), Mrs. Miles
Brewton, Mrs. Bull, and Lady William Camp-
bell, the wife of the last royal governor of
South Carolina. She herself married Colonel
Colin Campbell of the British army.
Mrs. Blake was Miss Pinckney's most inti-
mate friend ; they exchanged portraits, as was
the fashion of their time, and Mrs. Blake's,
graceful in gray satin and pearls, still hangs
in the house of Miss Pinckney's great-grand-
daughter. " The Barony," mentioned in the
letter, was one of those granted to the Lords
Proprietors. It was called the " Ashley Bar-
ony," and had been purchased by Mr. Wragg
many years before the date of this letter.
Many thanks my dear Becky for your obliging
favour of yf. 16'- August. I waited its arrival
23G
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
with impatience, and it gave me sincere pleasure
to hear you were well and safely arrived. I re-
ceived a letter from my Brother a few days ago
mentioning your being at Oxford, but he says he
could not prevail with you to favour him with your
company to take a colledge Commons. I wish it
could have suited you to stay, for I am sure it would
have made ye poor young man extremely happy.
And so you really would not tell me who the
Gentleman was that was left for you on your Journey
to Oxford, pretending that he was an old beau and
his name not worth mentioning, but tho' you were
so sly we have found you out, and find it to be no
other than the gay Colonel F and what a
violent secret it is that Mr W has followed
Miss Izard to England, and Cap*. G could not
leave lier to come over with his vessel. Oh! my
reserved friend if you don't treat me with more
openness you shall be Prim, still ; and yet who can
be more charmingly affable and open when she
pleases than my much loved friend?
Our friend, Sally Middleton, was married last
w^eek at Port E,03^al Church to Mr Gherard; a
very private wedding, nobody at it but Mr &
Mrs A. Middleton. Her father so ill there is no
hope of his recovery. I am sorry I cannot comply
with my promise of sending some of her Bride-
cake, for nobody in Town has seen any of it. She
came to Town two days ago, but is not yet gone to
her own house.
237
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Miss Wragg, who I suppose thought it better
late than never, shook hands for Life last week
with Jack Mathewes; they had a mighty jolly
wedding of it up at jl Barony. They are all to he
in Town to-day, Miss Judith extreamly happy
with her new brother.
We are much obliged for the smart man you
have sent us, Mr Delance; he is thought hand-
some here, and chose out Miss Golightly before he
saw her for his flame!
I have told you of all the weddings, now sigh
with me my dear Miss Izard, for I can't suppress
mine when I think of poor unhappy Mrs X 's
fate. She died last month, 'tis said of a broken
heart; how dearly has she paid for her imprudent
choice, but she is at rest, may her indiscretions be
buried with her and every foible be forgot. Slie
left a daughter. Mama desires to be kindly re-
membered to you, and joins with me in compli-
ments to Mrs Drayton and to Mr & Mrs Blake.
If you should see a youth called Charles Pinckney,
let him know that he has a mother and sister in
this part of the world to whom he is very dear,
that would be glad to hear from him often. ... I
am much obliged to you for the fan, 'tis very hand-
some. Lord Charles Montagu has seen 3^our
Picture. He likes it, and desires me to make his
Compliments to the Original.
I was ill when Cap*. Wallace sail'd, or I should
have wrote to you by him, for I should have been
238
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
glad of ye earliest opportuuity of assureing you
that I am
Unalterably
Your Affectionate
Deer. 10».M7C6. ^' ^'
The times were certainly changing. Never
did Miss Lucas pen, even to her most intimate
friend, such a gossipy letter, and never did
she fail to sign herself " Your ob-^ humble Ser-
vant.'* His visit to Charles Town was fatal to
the Mr. Delancey mentioned above, for he was
killed in a duel begun in a coffee-house brawl.
Miss Pinckncy writes again to her friend at
Santee : —
^^The advancing Spring, especially the Mul-
berry trees in full bud, remind me of my promise
to dear Miss E,. to give her what information I
could in regard to the raising of silk. I therefore
send you my own Master, Pullien, who we follow
as near as we can.
'^I find Mr H. is the only opportunity I can
rely upon to convey a line to you; have you at last
got my travelling letter? I hear it went many a mile
into the back settlements before it found its way
to Santee. Mr H. told me at the Assembly he
would call before he left town, but I really believe
he is so Joked about me that it prevents his calling
on us, least it should be thought that he had a
serious attachment, and I am so much Joked that
239
ELIZA PINCKNEY
I believe I look so simple when he is in Company,
that he thinks me half an Idiot.
^' These are y^. reasons I did not ask him to take a
ride and see our little silk work.''
Mr. Daniel Horry, the gentleman on whom
Miss Pinckney's fancy thus rested, was of a
Huguenot family which had been settled on the
San tee River ever since the first emigration.
That lower part of the river was known as
" French Santee " from the number of Huguenots
living on its banks. Mr. John Lawson, an
English government surveyor, visited the settle-
ment in 1700, and says : —
" There are about seventy families seated on
this river, who live as decently and happily as any
planters in these southward parts of America,
The French being a tem^jerate, industrious people,
some of them bringing very little effects, yet by
their endeavours and mutual assistance amongst
themselves, (which is highly to be commended,)
have outstripped our Englisli. . . . AVe got that
night to Mons. Euger's [Huger] which stands
about fifteen miles up the river, . . . and were very
courteously received by him and his wife. . . .
— After we had refreshed ourselves we parted from
a very kind, loving, and affable people who wished
us a safe and prosperous voyage."
The planting of rice had made these worthy
people rich, and this present Mr. Horry, who
240
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
was of the third generation in this country,
was a very wealtliy man, owning many plan-
tations along the river, and living at a beauti-
ful one called Hampton, about forty miles
from Charles Town. He was an only child,
had been educated at home, and sent after-
wards to England ; had made the Cherokee cam-
paign, had married a Miss Serre, and had
lost his wife and two children. He was now
(in 1766) a childless widower ; his portrait
shows a very good-looking, olive-complexioned
man, with handsome mouth and chin ; and
although he was older than his bride, there
was no such discrepancy of years as there had
been between her father and mother, he being
then about thirty-five and she nineteen.
The affair was soon arranged, and the Family
Bible says : —
^^ Daniel Horry was married to Miss Harriott
Pinckney, daughter of the Hon'll^ Charles Pinckney,
this 15*?) day of Pebnary 1768 by the Kev!! Mr
Robert Smith, Rector for the Parish of S -Philip
Cliarles Town, South Carolina."
The tradition was that this was one of twelve
weddings which took place in Charles Town
that year, the grooms being all wealthy rice-
planters. Furniture was then all imported
from England, and the bedsteads brought out
16 2il
ELIZA PINCKNEY
for these bridals were lofty mahogany four-
posters, with tester, canopy, curtains, and val-
ance, complete. The posts, which might, from
height and size, have been called pillars, were
all carved with rice-stalks, with the heavy
clustering ears forming the capitals. To climb
into one of these beds one mounted a set of car-
peted steps. Mrs. Horry's was still in existence
thirty-five years ago.
What Mrs. Pinckney felt on parting with
her only daughter we can easily imagine. Tlic
separation was a serious one, for forty-two miles
of sandy road lay between Charles Town and
Santee. There was, as the foregoing letters
show, no mail, and the only means of communi-
cation was wlien some obliging neighbor sent
word that he or his servants were going to or
from "town." Heavy freights went by "the
boat," — the rice schooner, which might be a
week or more on the way. A more isolated
life could hardly be imagined, but it was cheered
by the friendliness of tlie neighbors, and by the
busy, useful occupations of the ladies, which
have been already described.
Mrs. Pinckney, however, did not mean her
daughter to run any risks from rice-field fevers,
such as were beginning to be dreaded, if she
could help it ; and only a few weeks after the
marriage she writes to her son-in-law, who,
242
DO^fESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
according- to planters' wont, could sec no danger
from his own fields : —
Believe me My dear Sir, though I long iin-
patientl}' to see you and my dear Girl, I would
not for my own self gratification, wish you to
come down a day before it is agreeable to you
and will suit your affairs, but I must own I am
very desirous you should come down this year by
the last day of June, when I shall expect to see
you both. I don't know that there has been any
particular person censuring, or making remarks
on your staying in the country, but people in
general think it wrong, and as both your neigh-
bours leave it in June, from apprehensions of sick-
ness, I know, (from what was formerly said,) you
would be blamed; and prudence dictates to us to
defeat malice and envy as much as we can, by
giving them as little room as possible to display
their malevolence. . . .
I am glad your little Wife looks well to the
ways of her household, I daresay she will not eat
the bread of Idleness, while she is able to do
otherwise. If she makes you happy I am content.
The management of a Dairy is an amusement
she lias been alwaj^s fond of, and 'tis a very useful
one. I will answer for it, hers is perfectly neat.
I find, as you sa}', she sends her instructions far
and near, besides the affairs of Murphy's Island
[a place at the mouth of the Santee River] she
has people out gathering simples, different kinds
243
ELIZA PINCKNEY
of snake-root, and pink-root, and is distilling herbs
and flowers.
I wrote to you and Harriott by Harry, and
hope your horses will get up safe, they set off
yesterday morning. . . .
Mrs Blake wrote to Harriott. The Doc*.V and
Mrs Garden always desire to be remembered to
you both
The town is very Empty, very dull, and not a
word of news stirring. My love to Harriott and I
am with the greatest truth, my dear Sir
Your most affectionate Mother
/-<rs rr m 1 Eliza Pinckney.
Kr.^ Town Thursday
9l'> March 1768.
From this time the correspondence between
mother and daughter was constant, but the
topics are generally of domestic interest only.
Mr. Horry had a large house and garden in
Broad Street on the site of the present Roman
Catholic Cathedral; and Mrs. Pinckney be-
guiled many lonely hours by directing the
planting and preparation of this garden, until
the sickly months should bring her dauglitcr
back to her. Some parts of these letters might
serve as a gardener's calendar ; and the way in
which after returning from a visit to Hampton
she arranges her household to suit the require-
ments of one person only, is strange to modern
notions.
244
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
**Marj-Aim understands roasting poultiy in the
greatest perfection you ever saw, and old Ebba the
fattening tliem to as great a nicety. Daphne
makes me a loaf of very nice bread. You know I
am no epicure, but I am pleased they can do things
so well, when they are put to it, and as to the eat-
ing part I don't think I shall miss Onia at all. I
sliall keep young Ebba to do the drudgery part,
fetch wood, and water, and scour, and learn as much
as she is capable of Cooking and Washing. Mary-
Ann Cooks, makes my bed, and makes my punch,
Daphne works and makes the bread, old Ebba boils
the cow's victuals, raises and fattens the poultry,
Moses is imployed from breakfast until 12 o'clock
without doors, after that in the house, '^^gg
washes and milks.
''Thus I have formed my household, nobody
eats the bread of idleness when I am here, nor are
any overworked, and I myself endeavour to make
up the idle time I spend at Santee, where I am the
only Idle person, where much industry goes on, and
the Master and Mistress are remarkably so ! . . .
I intend Daphne shall take her turn sometimes to
cook tliat she may not forget what she learnt at
Santee. Mary- Ann has pickled me some oysters very
good, so I have sent you a little pott by the boat.
Moses gets them at low water without a boat."
Enough servants certainly for one old lady.
A great happiness was now near at hand.
The return home of her eldest son, Charles
245
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Cotesworth, who, having passed with credit
through his Oxford course, with the Rev. Cyril
Jackson, afterwards Dean of Christ Church, as
his tutor, was now studying law at the Inner
Temple, and hoped soon to be admitted to the
bar.
The following extract from a letter preserved
in the Family Legend is worth reading, if but
for one sentence, — the last. Happy are the
mothers who can say so much ! She writes :
"I am alarmed my dear child at tlie account of
your being extremely thin, it is said owing to
intense study, and I apprehend your constitution
may be hurt; which affects me very much, con-
scious as I am how much, and how often, I liave
urged you from your childliood to a close appli-
cation to your, studies 5 but how sliortsighted are
poor mortals ! Should I by my over solicitude for
your passing thro' life with every advantage, be a
means of injuring jowy constitution, and depriving
you of that invaluable blessing, health, how shall
I answer to myself, the hurting a child so truly
dear to me, and deservedly so 5 who has lived to
near twenty-three years of age without once offend-
ing me.''
The young man had overstudied himself,
but a visit of some months to the continent
restored him. He returned to the Temple, was
admitted to the bar, rode one circuit for the
246
DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL DETAILS
sake of seeing tlie English practice, and re-
turned home in 17G9. His mother desired him
to choose a good ship, but not to let her know-
when he was to sail, as the anxiety would be
too much for her.
Doubtless tlie poor lady looked forward to
years of tranquil enjoyment in the society of
her precious boys (for the other was to return
soon also) ; but, although they did not know it,
the Revolution storm was already muttering in
the distance, and agitation was beginning. The
Stamp Act had been passed four years before,
and the young Americans then in England had
shared in the indignation which it had excited in
America. A likeness of C. C. Pinckney, painted
just before his return home, as a present to his
college friend. Sir Mathew Ridley, represents
him in the act of declaiming vehemently
ao-ainst the measure, and his brother's enthu-
siasm was so great as to gain him the name of
" The little Rebel " among his companions ; so
little had sixteen years of absence effaced the
love of country in these young Carolinians !
In the same year 1769 Mrs. Pinckney wel-
comed her first grandchild, Daniel Horry,
henceforth an important person in the family ;
and so the " eventful seventies " opened
happily, none dreaming what they were to
bring forth.
247
XIII
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
1773-1780
Nothing can be farther from the wish of the
present writer than to attempt even the slight-
est sketch of the Revohitionary War. That
tale has been told by abler pens than hers.
But as for the next few years the Revolution
was the life of the people of the country, it is
impossible to keep clear of it.
In Carolina it really took the people by sur-
prise, and they were apparently very far from
having any reason to desire it. The Colony was
perfectly prosperous ; the Peace of Paris, con-
cluded in 1763, had given that freedom and
safety to commerce which was the only thing
necessary to its welfare. Its rice and indigo
paid magnificently, aided by the British
" bounty ; " its staple commodities bought all
it needed, and it bought chiefly from England.
The agricultural daughter and commercial
mother lived in mutual helpfulness.
This for practical, business reasoning.
There was, besides, a personal loyalty to the
248
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
Crown, wliicli partly came from the comfort
and protection which the Province had expe-
rienced on the change from the proprietary to
the royal government.
There are, however, principles and rights
and sense of wrongs, which stir men's hearts
and break old bonds, even when the pocket is
untouched, and the attachment strong. The
small tax imposed by the Stamp Act, or the
imposts on glass, tea, etc., were really trifling,
and the colonists had borne heavy burdens
with only a few groans. But unhappily the
logic was good. " If they can impose two-
pence, why not ten pounds ? If ten pounds, why
not ten thousand? " and Mr. Locke, whose works
were studied by men and women, had declared
suggestively that " no man has a right to that
which another has the right to take from
him."
The principle was clear, but the cause was
but a small one to go to war about. The Car-
olinians sent the stamps back to England, and
publicly, in broad daylight, threw the tea into
the Cooper River in 1774. They also, to show
their sympathy for Boston, then threatened
with the Port Bill, sent money and provisions
to the amount of X 3,150. But although they
cursed the Ministry, and wished that his Gra-
cious ^Majesty could be better advised, they
249
ELIZA PINCKNEY
little thought that in less than two years they
would cut themselves loose from the old
country.
At this time there were in England many
young men sent there for education. It was
no pleasure-trip of a rich man's son to see the
world, but real hard work which these youths
undertook. It might have been supposed that
these years of absence would have weakened
their attachment to their own country, but it
was not so. They were learning not only law
and logic, but English life and liberty, and
seeing the happiness of a people living in its
own house with no man to make it afraid.
Freedom in England liad " broadened slowly
down," but, learned by men of her own blood,
in her own ancient schools, it was to spread
widely but swiftly when given to the larger air
of the great young continent.
It has already been said that the Pinckneys
sympathized in the indignation provoked by
the first arbitrary measures. Charles Cotes-
worth was now at home, ready for any call
from his country ; but his first thoughts were
not of war, but love, and in 1773, Mrs. Pinck-
ney had the happiness of seeing him married
to Sarali, daughter of the Hon. Henry Middle-
ton, — a descendant of one of the first royal
governors of the Province, who was himself to
250
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
be president of the first Continental Congress,
while his son, Arthur Middleton, was to sign
the Declaration of Independence.
The marriage gave great pleasure to Mrs.
Pinckney. Her intimacy with the family dated
from her early days on Asliley River; and lier
sons, while in England, had received constant
kindness and attention from Mr. Middleton's
eldest brother and his wife, who had returned
from Carolina, and lived at a beautiful place
called "Crowfield" in Suffoll^.
The young couple settled themselves in the
house on the Bay, which had so long been occu-
pied by successive governors, and their mother
makes constant mention of visits from " your
brother and Sally " in her letters to her
daughter. She had also the delight of seeing
her youngest child, Tom, the darling of her
heart, who came out for a short time, and then
returned to finish his law course.
The threatening aspect of affairs had had
much effect, however, upon this young man.
He spent some time at the Military Academy
of Caen in Normandy, studying the art of war,
and in a letter published in Johnson's Tradi-
tions of the Revolution, which is addressed to
the son of his old companion-in-arms, Major
James Ladson, he says of Mr. Ladson and
himself : —
251
ELIZA PINCKNEY
*^We were together scholars at Eeda's fencing
academy, and at tlie riding school of Angelo, at which
he was distinguished for vigor and activity. At
this period American politics occupied much of the
public mind in London, and the young Americans
attended a meeting of their countrymen convened
by Dr. Franklin, Mr Arthur Lee, Mr Ralph Izard,
etc for the purpose of framing petitions to the
Legislature and the King, deprecating the acts of
Parliament, then passing, to coerce our country.
. . . But the petitions not having the desired
effect, and foreseeing that an appeal must probably
be made to arms, we endeavoured to qualify our-
selves for the event and hired a sergeant of the
royal guards to drill us at your Father's lodgings.
From him we obtained the knowledge in military
service we could derive from a person of his
rank."
Mrs. Pinckney, in writing to her daughter,
says of the above-mentioned petition, " It was
signed by twenty-nine Americans, fifteen of
whom were Carolinians." Notwithstanding
her knowledge of these affairs, there is no note
of danger in the following tender, peaceful
letter, written at this time to her daughter :
^^That I love my children above all sublunary
beings (myself not excepted) is most certain!
Have I not given you a sufficient proof of it ray
252
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
dear Harriott in refusing to take my sweet child
with me, tho' you and ]Mr Horry were so good to
offer him to me? I applaud your self denial and
esteem myself your debtor, though I was disinter-
ested enough to forego the pleasure ; I wonder at
my own resolution after the dear little creature's
reply to somebody that asked him, if he was going
to Belmont? 'that he would chuse to go but that
Grandmama would not have him! '
*'Tell my dear baby I have him in my heart
and would always have him in my sight if I could,
consistently with what is right. . . .
''Your sister [Mrs. C. C. Pinckney] did not go
out of town till Monda}'^, and your brother set out
on the Circuit on Wednesday'', he with Mr Rut-
ledge dined at the quarter house and were to lie at
Mr Middleton's at Goose-creek that night.
"Mr. Horry has sent me a little Cargo! I
have just got it up ; indeed my Children you are all
very kind, and determined I shall live well, you,
(in which I include Mr Horry) send me a quantity
of eatables, and your good brother, of drinkables,
Porter and Liquors, and would have forced more
wine upon me than I have room for. I know you
have Pine-apple Cheese, (for you would have had
me take part,) or I would send you one he sent
me. When shall I use it ? . . .
"We have not been separated quite a fortnight
yet and I long to see you already. How does good
Mrs Motte do, and the rest of your good neigh-
bours? Praj^ pay my Comptf. to them."
253
ELIZA PINCKNEY
The " dear buby " was often left to comfort
his grandmother. This chatty letter from a
friend does not look as if danger was im-
pending : —
I am sorry my dear Madam that you should
think any apology necessary to me and am con-
cern'd to think you have been unwell, with all
your Comforts (except Dan.l) away from you !
I should certainly have called upon you but
have been prevented these three days past by
company. . . .
I hope for yJ". excuse for keeping Pullien, [a
treatise on silk culture] so long, and am much
obliged for the loan of him, as also for the kind
invitation you have given the girls to visit your
silk manufacture, which they shall certainly do,
as soon as possible, as well as myself, as the reel-
ing off the silk puzzles me more than the rest.
I hope you will not hurry j^ourself with tlie
books you have ; your time shall be ours. I have
returned you ''The Earl of Salisbury" as y- ser-
vant told me you had not yet finish'd it. When
you are inclin'd for a very high diversion I will
send you the '' Female Quixote," which, tho' not
quite so well wrote as the Don of that name, will
afford 3^ou a good deal of entertainment from the
absurdities she commits. When you have read it
I shall be oblig'd for your opinion, whether it is
not a very proper Book for young Folks, to shew
them the consiquence of being too fond of those
254
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
books which all girls would rather read than things
of more consequence.
I think I have trespassed too long already
upon yr. patience, therefore heging your excuse
assure you Dr. Madam of my very great esteem.
Eliza Huger.
Amid this apparent tranquillity things grew
steadily worse. The Continental Congress at
Philadelphia, in 1774, and the Provincial Con-
gress of South Carolina, in 1775, recognized
the full gravity of the situation, although
almost every man still hoped for a peaceful
solution of the difficulties. This Continental
Congress decreed that after the first day of
February, 1775, no British goods should be
imported, — a measure naturally very trouble-
some to those who had shopping on hand and
country commissions to perform.
to Mrs Horry
Jones sent me word that the stores had been
searched and he could not get a bit of fine washing
Pavillion gauze [mosquito net] any where. I after-
wards sent old Mary, with directions not to miss
a store, and to let them know it was Cash.
After two or three days search she got me some
coarse stuff for \\^^ I payed ready money. ... A
Providence vessel is just arrived, w*:^ gives me an
opportunity to beg y.": acceptance of a little Turtle
in fine order, and some very fine limes. Ye
255
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Bananas and Oranges are bad, or I should not for-
get my Boy. . . -
I send nine pieces of paper and border for j^our
room, I wish you may like it, there is none in
town like the pattern you sent, Blott [an uphol-
sterer] says; he will take whatever is left again,
I send what I think prettiest, there is very little
choice in town. ... I send a little barrel of Irish
patatoes (Hartford's English patatoes I mean) and
16 Cake knots for my dear Boy, to whom remem-
ber me tenderly. . . . Mrs Prioleau t'is thought
will dye of a pleurisy —
Mrs. Prioleau, wife of Samuel Prioleau, the
grandson of the first Huguenot pastor of Caro-
lina, died a few days afterwards, and her
funeral is still remembered as the occasion of
the first visible sign of resistance. The Con-
gress had decreed that no mourning should be
worn until the obnoxious acts were rej^ealed,
except a black band or bow on the arm, as
mourning goods must all be imported.
When one remembers what affairs of solemn
state funerals were then ; how the kinsfolk
came from far and near to attend them, and all
walked in strict order of proximity swathed in
black from top to toe, — " weepers " of crape
hanging from the hat of every man, hoods
shrouding the head of every woman ; how the
gay liveries were exchanged for black ones,
256
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
and tbo women servants (all of whom fol-
lowed in the procession) were happy in black
gowns, — one comprehends what an innovation
this was, and how deep the resolve that in-
s[)ired it. Mrs. Prioleau and an old Mr. Lamboll
died about tlie same time, and were followed to
the grave by their weeping families clad in
many-colored garments. Mrs. Prioleau's chil-
dren determined that as they had not worn
mourning for their mother, they would never
wear it for any other person, and rigidly ad-
hered to the resolution. Her son was one
of the citizens sent to St. Augustine after the
fall of Charles Town, and bore his sufferings
and losses with the fortitude becoming his name
and race.
Mrs. Pinckney now had her second son with
her once more, and wrote happily to her daugh-
ter after returning with him and Lady Mary
Middleton from a short visit to Santee. The
letter shows the manner of travelling in those
days ; " Harry " was Mr. Horry's servant, sent
back with the horses which had brought them
to town. " The Ferry " was that over Cooper
River, a little farther up than the steamboat
ferry is now ; it was then crossed by passengers,
in a row-boat. If horses and carriages were to be
taken over, a cumbrous affair — a hulk worked
by a wheel, turned by a horse, which walked
17 257
ELIZA PINCKNEY
round and round, and called " a horse-boat " — -
was brought into requisition. The present
writer remembers such a one well. '^ The
Ferry " is over two miles of stormy water, and
the crossing no joke.
Charlestown Feb.y 1775
Harry has no doubt informed my dear Child
that we had a very pleasant journey to the Ferry.
We dined under the Oaks at the Meeting House,
upon your very fine Tongue and Turkey, we found
some new Shingles for platters, and cups of white
paper, contrived by Tomm, for glasses; if this was
not a fete-champetre it was at least a pretty rural
meal.
The wind rose so much towards Evening, I
debated with mj^self whether I should return as
far as Snee [a place about fifteen miles from the
Ferry, belonging to Mrs. Pinckney's nephew,
Charles Pinckney] and proceed next morning,
as Lady Mary and y- brother left the matter to
me, but at length we crossed the river in a stout
boat with seven hands to navigate her, in a high
wind and rough sea, & was very anxious till we
were half way over. Had the boat overset Lady
Mary and I would have drag*^. poor Tomm down
with us ; but I thank God, we at last got over safe,
to the great joy of ourselves and our fellowpassen-
gers (3 gentlemen from the ISTorthward). We went
to your brother's [C. C. Pinckney's East Bay house]
and found him expecting us. . . . Pray give
258
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
our compliments to ISIr Horry, and thank him
for the horses and all favours, they performed
extremely well. ... I could not match jl carpet-
ing. We had a little levy of Gen* and Ladies
to-day.
Later in the same month she writes : —
I am just come from Church where I heard
from jV[r Smith a very good, patriotic Xtian like
sermon, attended to by the audience with great
seriousness, there was a prayer suited to the occa-
sion. The Assembly came in a body, with the
Speaker at their head and the mace carried before
him. . . .
Lady Mary and I were invited to meet a few
friends at Mr Fenwicke's next Tuesday, yours and
the young folks cards are for a ball, many are in-
vited. . . . Your brother Tomm is sworn in to
this Court. Were he to Consult what became him
he should wear no other dress but the Barr gownd
— , it becomes him better than any thing he ever
wore, he expects to open his mouth in Court
tomorrow.
Feb.T 17^?> —
He " opened his mouth " accordingly, and
we can fancy his mother's anxiety, while she
sits writing to keep herself quiet, until some
friend shall come to tell how he has acquitted
himself.
269
ELIZA PINCKNEY
Feb? 18t> 1775.
I this moment rec» my dear Child's letter,
and happy to hear you are all well — , am much
obliged for the Turkey's, fowls and eggs — I hope
you have not robd y^'self, as Sally sent me some
since I came down, but my obligation is the
same. ... I send your two little panboxes with
y- suit of Point [lace]. It must be in Taste,
for it has not been two months from France; There
are two caps to it, the lappited head I think very
handsome, I always liked it beyond all other caps.
Your brother Tomm desires to be remembered to
Mr Horry and begs his acceptance of a shaving
box, it is square and I am obliged to sew it up in
cloth, for it won't lie in the little portmanteau. I
shall send *'The Inflexible Captive" to amuse you
and Miss Trapier if I can get it — . . . Your
brother has just been here — , he stept in from Court
to let me know Tomm has spoke for the first time
they have gain'd the cause and (I forget the Client's
name) presented Tomm with a couple of Joes as
soon as he had done. I have seen nobody yet to
know how he spoke but his brother, and he, you
know is very partial to him. . . .
Was Mr Horry to see this, he would think I
had nothing to do, but he is mistaken, I have been
in a continual hurry since in town, j^esterday
(Sunday) excepted; but I am expecting Tomm
every minuet from Court to eat his dinner, and
can't sett about anything else. . . .
Tomm is come in from Court he don't seem
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
at all satisfied with himself; says he was confused.
IVFr Ned Rutledge [C. C. Pinckiiey's brother-in-law,
and partner at the bar, was one of the Signers of
the Declaration of Independence] called in the
evening; he is very friendly to Tomm, he wish'd
me joy, I thanH- him but told him I was sorry T.
seemed so dissatisfied with himself; he said, ''he
had no cause, he thought his being dash., was in
his favour the first time of speaking as it was
owing to his modesty, and the argument was all his
own. What he found fault with in himself would
wear off in one Circuit. '^ . . . Y- Cousin Pinck-
ney. [Mrs Charles Pinckney] has just been in.
She has been speaking of yF. brother Tomm, says
her husband was extremely pleased to hear him,
said he acquitted himself extraordinary well, with
great calmness and good sence — , not at all con-
fused or fluttered, but that nothing pleased him
more than the modesty of his countenance and
deportment.
'Tis near two o'clock. I must conclude.
We must pardon this loving mother if, to
her, " Tomm's " appearance in court was more
momentous than the solemn day of fasting
and prayer for guidance in their ways, which
she mentions above. It had been appointed
by the Congress of the Province in all serious-
ness and faith. Not lightly or unadvisedly did
the men of Carolina turn from the old patlis
and set themselves to the untrodden ways.
261
ELTZA PINCKNEY
This day is described by one of the chief among
them, General Moultrie, in his Memoirs,
thus : —
''Every place of worship in Charleston was
crowded with the inhabitants; and Congress went
in a body to S* Phillip's from the State House,
agreeably to their resolve and most of them in their
military array. On their entering the Church, the
organ began a solemn piece of music, and con-
tinued playing until they were seated. It was an
affecting scene as every one knew the occasion, and
all joined in fervent prayer to the Lord to support
and defend us in our great struggle in the cause
of Liberty and our Country. The Eev? Dl Smith,
at the request of the Provincial Congress, delivered
an excellent and suitable discourse on the occasion,
v/hich very much animated the men; Avhilst the
female part of the congregation, were affected in
quite a different manner; floods of tears rolled
down their cheeks, from the sad reflection of their
nearest and dearest friends and relations entering
into a dreadful civil war, the worst of wars, and
what was most to be lamented, it could not be
avoided."
Moultrie was clear-sighted ; the women, as
was natural, hoped still, although in the very
next letter the ominous words, " the blank
commissions have come," must have suggested
the thought that the " becoming Barr gownd '*
262
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
must soon 1)0 exchanged for a coat of a livelier
color.
Only a few days later Mrs. Pinckney writes :
^' A packet came in on Sunday night, it rained
all day yesterday and I did not know it to inform
you by Sam. Poor Lady Charles Montagu [their
friend of happier days] is dead, She died at Exe-
ter. I can't tell you much Publick news, but what
I have heard is as follows, That yf. American af-
fairs at home wear a more favourable aspect. The
King has promised to receive the petition, Jamaica
has petitioned, the rest of the Islands are about to
do it, as well as the London Merchants, The Trades-
people clamour extremelj^; Mr Fox is not so violent
as he used to be against us. Capt. Turner is also
arrived and says there is a prospect of the acts
being rejDeaH.,
''Pray God grant it may prove true ! "
And so, they hoped and prayed, would the
heart of the King be softened ! It was not
until April that intercepted letters to the gov-
ernors of the different provinces showed that
the most oppressive counsels prevailed in Lon-
don ; and then the news of the battle of Lex-
ington roused a more fiery spirit, and the men
were called to arms.
Tlie men in such times have the better part ;
the women must sit at home and watch the
weary day. The following letter to Mrs. Horry
203
ELIZA PINCKNEY
shows the feeling of the time. It is written in
August, 1775, when already the tents were on
the green, and is from a lady who, since Mrs.
Horry's marriage, had become one of her dear-
est friends, — Miss Trapier, afterwards Mrs.
Martin. The daughter of Mr. Horry's grand-
father, the emigrant Elias Horry, had mar-
ried a Trapier ; the relationship and friendship
between the families was close. She begins
fancifully : —
^^I don't know how it happens, but I seldom
keep to my good resolutions. I determined yester-
day to write to you my dear Cousin, & I can't find
an excuse to myself but downright Idleness. 0 !
this too loving Indolence which keeps me all to
itself, whose bands tho' in appearance cobweb, are
fetters strong as steel; leave me a little while, dear
friend ! while I apologize to a friend still dearer,
for the very short answer I must give to three
favours received from her. ♦
'^Now I have apostrophised Giant Indolence let
me thank you for y- letters, received by Mrs. Kin-
loch's Dick. I immediately sent up a Memoran-
dum of the articles you wanted, and hope you have
been in time. ... I see by these preparations of
tents etc, that our soldiers are making ready for
the field. I hope there w^ll be little occasion for
them. Heaven interests itself in favor of those
who have Virtue to assert the birthright of man-
kind. Divine Liberty ! and Britain surely will be
2G4
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
shortly taught by our successes and continued una-
nimity, in spite of all their base arts to disunite
us, that America determines to be free, and that it
is beyond their force of arms to enslave so vast a
Continent.
" What shall we think of those few base souls
among us, who, leaving penury and want in their
own country have lived luxuriously in our land,
and raised themselves a name; who now spurn at
their benefactors, and betray the place that has
been their asylum. From the misrepresentation
of such wretches, do we doubtless owe much of our
present calamity.
^'Tell Mr. Horry his friend Gr. threatened the
Committee with an assault the other day, for which
pretty performance the Mohility^ whom I fancy he
depended on as Associates (for he declared he in-
tended raising a posse, or I should have thought
his own Herculean arm was to do the whole,) could
they have caught him, intended him a genteel
souse in the River or perhaps a fashionable suit
[of tar and feathers].
*'I hear Mrs Kinloch in the next room, and
must therefore finish as quick as possible, she
comes for my assistance in laying out a quilt, —
you know the excellence of my taste! but no ex-
cuse is sufficient. . . .
*'My best respects and Compliments to your
jNIama and Brother Tom, does his soldier's dress
become him as well as his lawyer's gown. Adieu
my dear Cousin, I can't say another word but my
2G5
ELIZA PTNCKNEY
wishes for all the satisfaction the present times will
permit. Yours most affectionately,
[signature torn off] —
I honour Mrs Motto's patriotism.''
This letter was written from the neighbor-
hood of Georgetown, S. C, a port which was still
open. These hopes w^e kiiow^ failed. Surely
never since the days of Pharaoh had God so
hardened the heart of a king to drive a reluc-
tant and enduring peoi>le to their own good !
Botli the Pinckneys received ca])tains' com-
missions in the First Regiment of South Caro-
lina troops, with Christopher Gadsden, who
had served in the Cherokee campaign under
Grant, as their colonel ; and in June, 1775, the
brothers left home to go into camp on James
Island at Fort Johnson, — the fort built by Sir
Nathaniel Johnson, in the time of Lc F(3boure's
invasion.
All that summer two British sloops-of-war,
the Tamar and the Cherokee, lay in " Rebellion
Roads*' off Sullivan's Island, and threatened to
bombard the town, which lay at the mercy of
their guns. At last, on November 9, William
Henry Pray ton. President of the Provincial
Congress, gave the order, — ''To the American
ofiicer conunanding at Fort Johnson, by every
military operation to endeavour to oppose the
200
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
passage of any Britisli naval armament that
might attempt to pass."
No wonder the people were alarmed ; the
town was practically still defenceless, and could
easily have been destroyed. Mrs. Horry writes
to Miss Trapier at Georgetown : —
'^At about this Season of the year I used to
flatter myself with the pleasure of seeing my dear
Cousin, and enjoying that free & unreserved con-
versation so pleasing to the social mind. . . . But
alas! How distant is the prospect of this felicity
now! how uncertain 'tis when we sliall meet
again! My Mother Daniel and myself intend to
go to a little Plantation House at Ashepoo in
search of safety, when we can stay no longer here;
but think with what reluctance I must leave the
place of my nativity, this poor unhappy Town,
devoted to the Flames, when I leave in it my
Husband, Brothers, and every known male relation
I have, (infants excepted,) exposed to every danger
that can befall it; were their lives but safe I think
I could bear with some degree of Fortitude, the
Evils of Indigence that stare us in the face, how-
ever hard to human Nature, and to human Pride.
"Mr Trapier will inform you of affairs here,
and of the Mortifying truth of the number of
disaffected in our Province to ye. American cause.
I really believe tho' the Gaiety and levity re-
ported of our Sex in Town is ver}' unjust. I liave
seen very little of tlie first, and nothing of the
207
ELIZA PINCKNEY
last for many months, indeed I think rather an
universal dejection appears at present, the heavy
Cloud that hangs over us ready to burst upon our
heads calls for all our Fortitude to meet the Awful
Event with that decency and resignation becoming
Xtians; the Scandalous conduct of many among us,
leaves us not much to hope, a most humiliating
Circumstance to all true lovers of their Country.
Almost all the Women, and many hundred Men
have left Town. In a few days I imagine we shall
hardly have a female acquaintance to speak to. . . .
I must again trouble you for a few articles not to
be had in Charles Town [a list chiefly of medi-
cines] Pray keep these things by you till you can
meet with an opportunity to send them by Land,
as we have already suffer*?, by Water in having our
Boat seized by y?. Man of Warr, in coming from
Georgetown, All our Compliments etc etc . . . My
Brother is at y.^ Fort. Tom at present recruiting.
Mr Horry goes to yf. Fort next Friday to stay a
month.
'' Adieu my dear Cousin, be assured of the most
sincere attachment etc —
^'28^^ Nov 5. 1775."
Happily these fears were not realized. The
British delayed their threatened attack ; some
hastily erected fortifications threw a few shells
at the Tamar and the Cherokee, and they with-
drew from the Roads.
Armed resistance was thus begun. Only
268
BE GIN XING OF TUB REVOLUTION
those who have known a like pang can know
how keen is the pain inflicted by such sad
necessity, — the rending of ties of country, the
division of families !
This was most felt in the upper class, which
had the closest connection with England. Miss
Izard, for instance, a letter to whom has been
given, was now the wife of Colonel Campbell of
the British army. Her sister was the wife of
Lord William Campbell, Governor of the Prov-
ince. Her brother became General Izard in
the American service ; while Lord William,
who had been joyously received in Charles
Town only a few months before, was forced to
take refuge on a man-of-war, and fell, serving
gallantly as a volunteer in the attack on Fort
Moultrie in June, 1776.
Mr. Henry Middleton and his son were, as
has been said, ardent patriots. The head of
their family was a country gentleman in Suffolk.
Mrs. Pinckney's father and brother had been
officers in his Majesty's army, — and so it
went. Women suffer cruelly in such cases of
divided allegiance, when love and duty beckon
on either hand. No word of murmur or pro-
test, however, escapes the remarkable woman
whose life is here portrayed. She prayed for
peace while peace was possible ; then for a
speedy end to the war ; then for reconciliation
269
ELIZA PINCKNEY
and forgiveness of injuries. But she never set
herself against her sons, or against that sen-
tence in her husband's will which had enjoined
each of them to devote " all his future abilities
in the service of God and his Country, and in
the cause of virtuous liberty."
Her granddaughter, when asked what part
Mrs. Pinckney had taken, and how she had in-
fluenced her children, said that she "had prayed
to God to guide them aright, but that she had
given no advice and attempted no influence ;
for that having done her best while they were
boys to make them wise and good men, she now
thankfully acknowledged that they surpassed
her in wisdom as in stature."
Long before the close of the war, she found
her reward for this early forbearance. Her
sympathies centred themselves in the cause
for which her sons were flghting, and their
country became entirely her own.
The military history of the two Pinckneys
has lately been written in the Life of General
Thomas Pinckney, and forms no part of this
work. They were forced to look on from across
the Bay, most unwilling spectators, at the bat-
tle of Fort Moultrie in 1776. The letters from
Thomas Pinckney to his mother and sister give
a vivid picture of the scene. In the compara-
tively quiet time which followed that battle in
270
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
Carolina, Charles Cotesworth went on to Gen-
eral Washington, and had the honor of serving
as his aide in the campaign of '77. The
friendship then formed, continued all their
lives, without shadow of turning, Washington
never losing any opportunity of evincing his
trust and confidence in the ardent Carolinian.
During this period things went on quietly
enough in the South, — the ladies leading their
accustomed lives, and the men " riding the cir-
cuit" and planting their crops, though always
ready to resume their arms. In 1778, however,
trouble arose from Florida. Florida had been
acquired by Great Britain from Spain only a
few years before, and she now used it as a point
of vantage whence to harass Georgia and Caro-
lina. Mrs. Pinckney says : —
^^The Georgia deputies are come, and that is all
I know about them; you know I don't love to be
inquisitive and therefore I did not ask any of y-
committee folks, and those that did not belong to
it knew nothing of the matter as they were shut
out. . . . Y" Brothers intend to set out for the
Southward this week. . . . The Deputies above
mentioned I find are not, from y?. Province of
Georgia, but from S.*. Johns in Georgia."
General Howe was to command this expedi-
tion ; Charles Cotesworth, now Colonel, was
271
ELIZA PINCKNEY
under him ; and Thomas congratulates himself
in after years on the recollection that " being
a Major I was on horseback." Mrs. Pinckney
had a lively horror of Florida campaigns, re-
membering well the sufferings of those of her
youth. Sickness too now broke out, a sort of
putrid fever appearing, especially among the
negroes, and embarrassing operations. Drouth
too threatened, and the summer of 1778 opened
anxiously.
The Georgia expedition failed much as
General Oglethorpe's Augustine expedition had
done years before. The climate was too much
for the men, and the enemy, by simply " falling
back," wrought as much havoc as pitched bat-
tles could have done. Thomas Pinckney wrote
that " before we reached Fort Tonyn which the
British abandoned at our approach half of our
troops were in their graves or in the hospitals."
Mrs. Pinckney was thankful to receive her sons
alive and free from the sickness which carried
off many of their comrades. She says : " A
soldier's life seems to agree with your brother,
he generally looks better for undergoing
fatigue." "Gen^. Lincoln is arrived. My ac-
count came in for altering my brocade. XGO
including sewing silk, which alone is <£5."
General Lincoln had come to resist the
British, who had gained possession of Georgia
272
BEGINNING OF TUE REVOLUTION
and even of Savannah. Mrs. Ilony writes in
great alarm from Santee. At such a distanco
from town, rumor of course ran riot, and any-
thing might be believed.
^'I liave been so uneasy at not hearing a word
from my dear iNfama to inform me of the reason of
her delay that I am determined to wait no longer,
and tho' it is almost against the rule of this house
to send to Town, I shall dispatch Ned immediately
in hopes of being at a certainty; for tho' I have
seen none of the neighbours, except the Col^? Family,
[her husband's uncle, Colonel E. Horry] since Tues-
day week, I have heard various reports ; the last of
which was that all the first regiment were gone to
Georgia! I had heard before that* there were
an hundred sail of Vessels within the Bar, then
that there were but forty, and that those had never
been within forty leagues of it, and that the fleet
had gone to Georgia, where also Generals Lincoln
and Moultrie were gone, etc etc. and tho' there
has been several opportunities from the camp at
See wee, [" Seewee," a part of Bull's Bay to the north
of Charleston] I have not had a line to inform
me of any thing that was going forward.
''I am now here entirely alone, not so much as
the little weaver or Snyder here. [Snyder was
the German overseer.] Part of the Colonel's
Family have been with me since Xmas day till
the last night, but Miss Roberts had business at
home, and as yesterday was so fine a day, she, as
18 273
ELIZA PINCKNEY
well as I, thought we should certainly see you. I
should have been extreamly glad if April could
have been sent up to put me a little out of the sus-
pence I have been in for very near a week past.
Ben Huger went to Georgetown some daj^s ago,
which made me immagine that the apprehension of
the Enemy's coming here, could not be so great as
to prevent my hearing from you, and therefore
thought that you or my Brothers must be very ill
I hope to hear by Ned that the last is not the case,
and beg he may come up tomorrow.
''Dec.': 30'.M778.'^
These were for the time false alarms, but the
loneliness must have been enough to excuse
any amount of credulity. A young woman
with one little boy and a baby (there was a
little Harriott Pinckney Horry now) alone on
a plantation with no white man, " not even the
little w^eaver or Snyder," and listening to all
the tales which the negroes gather and spread
with amazing rapidity, must needs be appre-
hensive. And yet the women had to stay, the
men all being in camp, or else the whole plan-
tation machinery must stop.
In the midst of all this, Thomas Pinckney
married Miss Elizabeth Motte. This also was
a marriage which pleased his mother greatly.
The Mottes had long been near and dear
friends. The Chief Justice had been carried to
274
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
their house at Mount Pleasant for change of air,
in his last ilhicss, and had died there. They
were among Mrs. Horry's nearest and best neigh-
bors at Santee, and Mi's. Pinckncy liad a higli
opinion of them. From the beginning of the
Revolution the Mottes had been among the
patriots, but the most conspicuous proof of
Mrs. Motte's devotion to the cause of American
liberty was yet to come. It did not seem an
auspicious moment for a marriage, for within a
few months, Provost, marching from Savannah
to besiege Charles Town, laid waste the whole
country between the two cities. The planta-
tion on the Asliepoo belonging to Thomas
Pinckney (now Major), whicli had, as has
been said, been chosen as the safest place at
which to store the family valuables, lay
directly in his way ; it was plundered and
burned to the ground. The following letters
sliow the temper with which tlie mother and
son bore their losses.
Hampton, as remote from the danger, shel-
tered many ladies flying from the enemy, but
Belmont also suffered. We have not Major
Pinckney 's first letter. His mother wrote :
Hampton, Saxtee, May 1779.
My Dear Tomm, — I have just received your
letter with tlie account of my losses, and your
almost ruined fortunes by the enemy. A severe
275
ELIZA PINCKNEY
blow! but I feel not for myself, but for you; 'tis
for your losses my greatly beloved child that I
grieve; the loss of fortune could affect me little,
but that it will deprive my dear Children of my
assistance when they may stand most in need of it.
. . . Your Brother's timely generous offer, to
divide what little remains to him among us, is
worthy of liim. I am greatly affected, but not
surprised at his Liberality.
I know his disinterestedness, his sensibility
and affection. You say, I must be sensible you
can't agree to this offer; indeed my dear Tomm I
am very sensible of it, nor can I take a penny from
his young helpless family. Independence is all I
want and a little will make us that. Don't grieve
for me my child as I asure you I do not for my-
self. While I have such children dare I think my
lot hard? God forbid! I pray the Almighty dis-
poser of events to preserve them and my grand-
children to me, and for all the rest I hope I shall
be able to say not only contentedly but cheerfully,
God's Sacred will be done!
On the same day the Major wrote to his
mother : —
Camp at Parker's Ferry May 17'.^.
HoN^ Madam, — A North Carolina soldier was
five days sick at my house at Ashepoo, and was
there when the enemy came. He reports that they
took with them nineteen Kegroes, among whom
were Betty, Prince, Chance, and all the hardy
27G
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
Boys — They left the sick women, and the young
children, and about five fellows who are now per-
fectly free and live on the best produce of the plan-
tation. They took with them all the best Horses
they could find, burnt the dwelling House and
books, destroyed all the furniture, china, etc, killed
the sheep and poultry and drank the liquors.
The Overseer concealed himself in the swamp
and afterwards returned. I hope he will be able
to keep the remaining property in some order, tho'
the Negroes pay no attention to his orders. As
however our Light Horse has scoured that Country,
and we still have some small parties out I am
hopeful all will not be lost. This account I
thought might be satisfactory, and therefore snatch
the moment of the Express setting out to transmit
it to you.
My feelings on account of your situation at
Santee, have been afflicting, for altho' you were
out of immediate danger, I can easily conceive
your anxiety for Charles Town, when in danger of
being taken. Our present situation promises
better times. Adieu my dearest Mother, remember
me tenderly to Harriott and all Friends, and
believe me your most dutiful
And affectionate Son
Thomas Pixckxey.
To her son Mrs. Pinckney wrote again : —
To Major Pinckney.
Harriott will write to you now if possible.
She is happy in being able to assist her friends at
277
ELIZA PINCKNEY
this time. She sent for Sally and the children
upon the first appearance of Danger, and we were
hapj^y when we got them with us. Mrs Middle-
ton, Lady Mary, Mrs Edward Rutledge, Mrs
Charles Drayton, Mrs Ealph Izard and Mrs
Mathewes are now here with all their little ones.
Mrs D. Huger, Mrs W. H. Drayton and children
with Miss Elliott and Miss Hyrne left us this
morning to go to Peedce. [All these were
ladies, most of them connections, whose homes lay
in Provost's track, and were thus refugees at
Hampton.]
Backlow [the overseer] wrote me he would
keep the boat to bring the women and children
from Ashe]300 as soon as there was any danger. . . .
I sent Prince the ta^dour to order the Belmont
people to cross Scott's Ferry and come to me at
Santee, and I hear Mr Horry [Colonel First Regi-
ment South Carolina dragoons] did the same, but
they are not come. The enemy was at Belmont and
distroyed every thing in the house, but took none of
the negroes. Those at Beech Hill were thought safe
and ordered to stay where they were. Quaco came to
Goose Creek to Sally to know whether they should
remove. ... I wish you or 3'our Brother were
near enough to direct what should be done, but I
dispair of jl being able to do any thing, and as the
Enemy are retreating to Ashley River, I think they
are out of the way of being taken at present unless
they choose to go to them, and in that case I fear
we should not be able to prevent it.
278
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION
It must not be supposed that the negroes
were carried off by the British to be set free.
They ^vere, on the contrary, generally sent to
the Vest Indies, and sold there by their cap-
tors. Ramsay says that twenty-live thousand
were carried oft during the war ; eight hun-
dred were said to have been sold by one English
engineer officer. Colonel Moncrieff, alone.
Only two days after his letter was written,
on the 20th of June, Major Pinckney had the
satisfaction of aiding in the defeat of Provost
(who had withdrawn from before Charles
Town), at the battle of Stono, after which Pro-
vost retreated to Savannah. Both brothers
and their brother-in-law took part in the siege
of Savannah, by Lincoln and the Count d'Es-
taing, — Major Pinckney serving as aide to
the coimt, who had sent a boat ashore when
off Charles Town, requesting to have an aide
sent him " who was fluent in French."
All also served in the defence of Charles
Town when it was besieged by Sir Henry Clin-
ton in 1780, Colonel C. C. Pinckney being in
command of Fort Moultrie. Clinton, however,
attacked " by the back door," as it was said,
landing to the south and making his approaches
by land. Washington afterwards declared that
no defence should have been made, it being im-
possible to hold the place with the means at
tlieir command; and the general commanding,
279
ELTZii PIN CK NET
Lincoln, despaired \Gvy soon. Moultrie, Lau-
rens, Gadsden, and Pinckney, however, who
were fighting for their homes, hoped and fought
on. Perhaps they did not hope for success, but
for a nobler aim ; for Pinckney, opposing Lin-
coln's desire to surrender, said : —
'^ I will not say, if the enemy attempt to carry
onr lines by storm that we shall be able to resist
them successfully; but I am convinced that we
shall so cripjile the army before us, that although
we may not live to enjoy the benefits ourselves,
yet to the United States they will be incalculably
great. Considerations of self are out of the ques-
tion; they cannot influence any member of this
councih My voice is for rejecting all terms of
capitulation and for continuing hostilities to the
last extremity."
The gallant John Laurens supported this
proposition, but it was not adopted. Still,
they held out for a month, while the shells
reached every part of the town, and shot down
the women and children in the streets. When
at last they piled their arms, the British, Moul-
trie says, " asked where the second division
was. They were astonished [to see so few]
and said we had made a gallant defence."
So fell Charles Town, and so began the dark-
est day of Carolina's history, — in the eigh-
teenth century.
280
XIY
END OF THE REVOLUTION
1781-1782
Before Charles Town capitulated, General
Lincoln had prevailed upon Governor Rutledge
and some of his council to leave the town, in
order that the State might not be surrendered
in the person or by the signature of her gover-
nor, and that civil government might be carried
on. With Governor Rutledge went Major
Pinckney and some other officers, who thus
escaped the captivity of their comrades.
By the articles of capitulation the officers
were to be exchanged, as is usual in war ; and
the citizens, under a general parole, were to be
unmolested in their homes and property. But
in a very short time, and especially after Lord
Cornwallis succeeded Sir Henry Clinton in
command, these articles were totally disre-
garded, and all sorts of humiliations and
wrongs were heaped upon the inhabitants.
Many of the officers, and among them Colonel
C. C. Pinckney, were confined at" Snee Farm,"
a few miles from Charles Town in Christ
281
ELTZA PINCKNEY
Churcli parish ; there is a letter written thence
by Colonel Pinckney with the words, ^' I hear
that my wife and children have been turned
out of my house ! Be pleased to tell me now
the meaning of this Manoeuvre."
" The exigencies of the service " answered
every remonstrance, and were found to apply
particularly to the handsomest and most con-
venient houses. There are innumerable stories
of these evictions. One lady, whose sister was
dying upstairs, refused to illuminate according
to order, and found herself on her doorstep
witli her infant in her arms. Others, for some
sharp speech or angry words (natural enough,
poor souls), had soldiers quartered in their
best rooms, while they were sent to the garrets.
Two sisters who remonstrated against some
order were thrown into the dungeon under the
old Post-office, with the worst felons of the
town. It was no worse treatment than is met
with in other wars ; but these people had dwelt
in peace for many years, and the cruelties were
inflicted by men who but a short time before
had been their friends and countrymen, — and
it was hard.
Worse still were the overtures of friendship.
Ladies were literally " bidden " to balls. If
their refusal was too marked or persistent, in-
genious ways of retaliation were found. Policy
EXD OF THE nEVOLUTION
compelled a certain (very carefully guarded)
acceptance of civilities.
These sufferers were tlie " true Patriots."
Then there vrere open British sympathizers,
who for various reasons liad remained in this
country. Of them there was little to be said.
Their side had won, and they had a right to
rejoice. But there were also those weak souls
who loved amusement, and could not resist a
" pretty fellow," whether he wore a blue coat
or a red one. The contemptuous scorn for
these feeble folk lasted while they lived. One
old lady who must have been near a hundred
when she died (a very respectable woman),
used to be pointed out to the young people :
" We don't think much of Miss X Y ,
my dear. Quite too fond of the British
officers : "
In the country in the meanwhile the women
had still worse times. The British set up the
claim that as the capitulation of Charles Town
had been signed by General Gadsden, Lieuten-
ant-Governor of the State, the whole State had
been included in the surrender, and that any
man still in arms might be treated as a rebel
and a traitor.
This pretence they used to justify their " dom-
iciliary visits," — descents on the houses and
plantations, in order to seize and arrest any of
283
ELIZA PINCKNEY
these rebels and traitors who might have ven-
tured home to see his wife and children ; also
to carry off any convenient goods and chattels
that might belong to him.
Two of these visits were made to Hampton,
but I cannot give the dates ; they were about
this time. Of the first story General Marion,
the ^' Swamp-Fox," was the hero. Mrs. Horry
was alone with her children at the time, for
the women stayed courageously at home, en-
couraged to do so by Marion, who advised them
to "take protection, make provisions, keep up
communications, and send information to the
men in camp ;" in other words, to make them-
selves spies, — which they patriotically did.
The tradition is that late one evening, her
children being asleep, Mrs. Horry heard the
sound of horse-hoofs, and then a man's voice
begging admission at the door. It was Marion,
who, having made an unsuccessful attack on the
British near Georgetown, was now in turn pur-
sued by them. His men had gone on to where
a bridge crossed the Wambaw Creek a few miles
off, in order to make their way to the Santee
swamp, which was their stronghold. Marion,
worn out and exhausted, had come to ask a
supper and a lodging, and would follow them
in the morning. Supper was prepared as
rapidly as might be, but while it was cooking
284
END OF THE REVOLUTION
the weary man sank into a sleep in his chair.
Suddenly came the tramp of horses, the clang
of steel scabbards : the British were upon
them !
Mrs. Horry waked the general, took him to
the back door, pointed down the long garden-
walk to the creek at its foot, and told him to
swim to the island opposite, and lie there in the
rushes until the English left, — she would meet
the enemy! "He was off like a wild duck,"
as Mrs. Horry's daughter always said in telling
the story, and like a duck swam the stream and
lay hid in the reeds until daylight came, when
he made his way up the river to rejoin his
men.
The lady in the meanwhile opened the front
door (carefully closing those behind her), and
met Tarleton face to face. Search was made,
Mrs. Horry not only offering no remonstrance,
but prolonging it by every means in her power.
The tracks of the main troop had in the mean-
while been found, and the soldiers hurried off,
taking horses, etc., but not stopping to plunder
much. Colonel Tarleton ate the supper pre-
pared for Marion, " requesting" Mrs. Horry to
act as hostess, and carried off himself (perhaps
in order to prove the polish to which he pre-
tended) a fine volume of Milton, of a beautiful
Baskerville edition, bound in crimson and gold.
285
ELIZA PINCKNEY
The second volume, and the chair in which
Marion slept, are kept as relics of the story.
The other visitation was more serious in its
results. It was the earliest recollection of
Mrs. Pinckney's granddaughter, the little Har-
riott Pinckney Horry (who was afterwards to
marry Governor Rutledgc's son), then between
four and five years old. She said that there were
many people in the house, — her father, who
had come home from camp, her uncle. Major
Pinckney, and his wife, and others. She her-
self was slcephig in a little cot at the foot of
her grandmother's bed (Mrs. Pinckney's), when
she was awaked by a loud noise and screams.
The door flew open, and a beautiful girl rushed
into the room, crying, '' Oh, Mrs. Pinckney, save
me, save me ! The British are coming after
me." The old lady stepped from the bed (one
can fancy her majestic in bed-gown and ker-
chief!), and, pushing the gii"l under her own
bed-clothes, said, " Lie there and no man will
dare to trouble you ; " and " such was the power
of her presence, my dear, that those ruffians
shrank abashed before her and offered no further
insult." The young girl was the sister of Mrs.
Pinckney's daughter-in-law, the beautiful Mary
Motte, afterwards Mrs. William Alston. Her
portrait, which hangs in the old Miles Brewton
house, still remains.
286
END OF THE REVOLUTION
This surprise was effected by a strong party
of the enemy, led by Major Fraser, one of the
most hated of the Tories, who had received in-
telligence of the presence of the two gentlemen.
Major Pinckney made his escape ; Colonel
Horry was seized, and made to take the parole,
to the no small distress of his family. This
time the place was thoroughly plundered, but
neither house nor outbuildings were burned,
which was esteemed a jnercy. It is curious to
see how quietly the people bore it all. Mrs.
Horry, w^riting to her dear friend, Mrs. Blake,
soon afterwards, says : " We liave lately been
well plundered by the Enemy. They took your
miniature, w -' 1 always wore on my neck, and
my repeating watch." That is the only men-
tion of this exciting event.
This must have been soon after the fall of
Charles Town, while Major Pinckney was on
his way to Camden and thence northward to
join General Washington. His wife went to
her mother's, at a place called St. Joseph's, on
the Congaree River, a])out eighty miles from
Charles Town ; his mother and her other daugh-
ter-in-law returned to town, endeavoring to
protect their property there and in that neigh-
borhood. The whole country was in the hands
of the British, and it mattered little where they
stayed. There are but few letters for these sad
287
ELIZA PINCKNEY
months ; probably there were no means of com-
munication ; the enemy patrolled the roads and
intercepted all men and horses except such as
carried the oilticial " permit," and even those
might, it was carefully stated, be '^ pressed if
the exigencies of the service required." The
forlornness of the time — I know no more ap-
propriate expression — is shown in the follow-
ing letters, the only ones for tliis summer; the
first is from Mrs. Pinckney to Mrs. T. Pinck-
ney at St. Joseph's : —
I am much obliged to you my dear Betsey for
your favour by John ; it gave us great concern to
hear of the frights and hardships you underwent
in 3^our journey and tlie continuance of them since
you have been up. The disappointment in the loss
of your boat, [tlie boat carrying supplies from the
Santee to the Congaree place,] must have rendered
your situation most uncomfortable. But alas this
is a time of suffering w*:!" we must all severely
feel, till the Almighty Power w''3.' governs Events
relieves lis. My heart bleeds at the separation
from my dearly beloved Son, . . . but heavy as
my own distresses are I feel yours in a great de-
gree, and write this chieflj^ to beg you will exert
your utmost efforts to keep up your spirits, and
imitate joux husband's fortitude. . . . Harriott
desires me to assure you of her affectionate re-
gards and joyns with me in love and every friendly
288
END OF THE REVOLUTION
wish to Mrs Motte and all her family ; she has
been lately in town upon business, and consulted
D" Garden upon innoculation, and sends Mrs
jMotte a copy of his directions, but I hope you will
be able to keep out of the way of the small pox
. . . We shall be anxious to hear from you, but
if 'tis inconvenient to you to write, use no cere-
mony with me, but beg the favour of Mrs Motte
or any of the ladies with you to write me a line to
say how you do. Be assured that I am dear Betsey.
Your most affectionate Mother
Eliza Pinckney
P. S.
Since the foregoing I received a letter from
my dearest Tom from Camden.
Tlie daughter-in-law answers just a month
later : —
MouxT Joseph July 1780
Honoured Madam, — I return you many
thanks for your favour by Sampson. It gave me
pleasure to hear that you with Mrs Horry and all
friends at Santee were well. I wish we could say
the same, but the fevers have attacked our children
and negroes earh^, Three of Aunt Dart's and
Mary [her sister] have for this ten days past been
very sick with fever, and we all expect to have it
soon. I sincerely simpathize with you in the
separation from our Dear and greatly beloved
friend [her husband] which has lately left us,
19 289
ELIZA PINCKNEY
God only knows when to meet again. However
I do all in my power to keep up my spirits and
hope for the best, as I hope something may y&t
turn up for us, such as to enable him to return with
Honour and satisfaction to himself and Friends.
I have not yet heard from him since he left
Camden, but hope ere now he is safe with Gen. I
Washington, as it was his Intention to join him as
soon as possible.
I am much obliged to you for your good
wishes relative to the small-pox — It w411 be
almost impossible for our family to escape as it is
on every plantation within 15 Miles around us. A
Doctor from the Northward innoculates up here
with great success, upward of a Thousand Blacks
and Whites, and not one died amongst the num-
ber. Mamma joyns me in affectionate love to Mrs.
Horry, is sorr}^ to inform her that some person
has stole one of her mares altho' she did every thing
in her power to save them. The other Three with
one Horse she sends down by Sampson.
They are in very bad order, as the Army has
taken all our provisions & it was not in our power
to feed them. She is afraid if she does not send
them away the rest may be taken, as They are con-
tinually calling to enquire for horses. Papa has
been gone down a month to-day and we have never
heard from him but once, he is on John's Island,
but we hope he may be able soon to return to his
family as we one and all long and wish to see
him. .-. .
290
END OF THE REVOLUTION
The spirits of the people rose when in
August they heard that General Gates, " the
conqueror of Saratoga," was coming with a
large army to their assistance. Especially did
tlie two Mrs. Pinckneys rejoice at hearing that
the beloved son and husband, serving as Gates's
aide-de-camp, was coming with him.
The joy soon turned to mourning, however,
when the disastrous defeat of the battle of
Camden left the whole country at the mercy of
Cornwallis. In this battle Major Pinckney's
leg was shattered by a musket-ball, and he
was made prisoner. Fortunately for him his
old schoolfellow. Captain Charles Barrington
McKenzie, wdiom he had befriended at the bat-
tle of Stono, was present now, and so inter-
ested the English surgeons in his behalf that
the leg, which had been condemned to amputa-
tion, was saved ; and even Tarlcton, who is
generally the demon of the piece in Revolu-
tionary stories in Carolina, showed him much
kindness.
He had been taken in, almost dead from loss
of blood, by a kind lady, Mrs. Clay, who lived
near the battlefield. His mother writes in
great dismay : —
Charles Town, Aug. 1780.
After a thousand fears and apprehensions for my
dear, my greatly beloved child I am at length
291
ELIZA PINCKNEY
made acquainted this day by your letter to your
brother of the 20th. of your leg being shattered and
you yourself a Prisoner. Gracious God, support
me in this hour of distress ! You can more easily
conceive my feelings on this occasion than I ex-
press them, alas my child, 'tis saying little at my
age to tell you how readilj^ I would part with life
could that save your limb, but how little can
I do for you. I am not allowed even to give you
that attendance and pay jow those tender atten-
tions that might in some measure alleviate your
distress. . . .
Major Mony to whose humanity and politeness
we are already much indebted will be so good as to
convey this to you with ten guineas. I send some
necessaries by his waggon also.
Your brother is at Snee, he was well when I
last heard from him, he has lately had a son, a fine
child named Charles Cotesworth. I long to see
your dear babe.
The baby born at so inopportune a moment
made it impossible for its mother to go to her
husband, and for some time he remained under
Mrs. Clay's care. Mrs. Pinckney wrote : —
^' I never heard my dear child that you were
without your servant till Capt M. came to Town,
I hope poor John is safe and well. Moses was
then at Santee or he would have been with you
before, he promises to behave well and I hope
will be useful. Your letter of the 23d gave me
292
END OF THE REVOLUTION
much pleasure. I have since seen one from Dr
Hayes' to Dr Garden in which he says : — ' Major
Pinckney is as well as we can expect though the
cure will be tedious, that both bones of the left
log are broke and splintered.' Alas, my child
what must you suffer! . . . Your sister's letter
and mine designed to go by Capt King but left
behind, were sent yesterday to Capt McMahon,
which we beg the favor he w^ould forward by the
first opportunity. I hope you will have received
the boxes sent you before this reaches you."
The boxes did not arrive, and the poor mother
is anxious lest he should suffer for the w^ant of
them. She says : —
^'I saw^ Capt McMahon last week, he told me
he thought 3'ou must by that time have received
the first box I sent; but the two last were gone
but tw^o days before. I beg you will make yourself
easy with regard to any little matters I send you;
'tis not at all inconvenient to me, therefore don't
imagine it will distress me, but let me know if
there is anything in particular that will be agree-
able to you and I will send it. . . . I wish you
out of so sickly a place as Camden, yet I fear much
your removing too soon. Heaven direct you. —
''Pray pay our respectful Compliments to Major
Mony and Capt ]\[acKenzie. ... I shall inquire
of Capt M. next time I see him what w^aggon your
box went by if I don't hear from you before of its
being received."
293
ELIZA PINCKNEY
How small the power of sending comfort
was, is seen in this extract from a letter to her
daughter-in-law, in which, after congratulation
upon the birth of her child, she says of her
son : —
''Our anxiet}^ however, has been greatly abated
by lieariiig frequently since of his being in a good
wa}^ ... I sent him a couple of suits of his linnen
by a waggon, I now send you what remains by
Sam, though the shirts are old, they may be of
Service to liim in his illness, there are two shirts,
three stocks, three pair of stockings and two hand-
kerchiefs. I heard from Snee lately, the Gen'l.
and Mrs Moultrie are well. [Mrs. Moultrie had
been a Miss Motte, Mrs. Tom Pinckney's aunt.]
My poor son has had another attack of the fever,
but is something better. . . .
'' You no doubt are acquainted with the great
attention and tenderness shown my son at Camden,
hyall the British officers that he has seen, and the
Gentlemen of the Faculty, as well as the maternal
kindness of Mrs. Clay.''
The careful enumeration of these few half-
worn things shows how the pinch of poverty
began to be felt. These were not the days in
which she could write : '-' Mr Horry has sent
me a little cargo." Writing from a place on
Goosecreck called " Harriott's Villa," Colonel
Horry says, about this time : " I send you a
294
END OF THE REVOLUTION
small shoat which I hope will be acceptable
and prove good ; a few eggs and potatoes
sent some time ago, I hope you have re-
ceived." For such small supplies they were
now thankful.
At last the surgeons consented to Major
Pinckney's removal, and Lord Cornwallis gave
the permit. A courageous lady, Mrs. Brewton,
his wife's cousin, went over to Camden for him.
The horror of the journey in an open spring-
less cart, his head resting on this lady's knees,
the jolting and suffering, as they made their
way across the two great swamps of the
Wateree and Congaree, to Mrs. Motto's place
on the latter river, has often been described to
the writer. On his arrival, so far from being
"in a good way," the leg was found in a shock-
ing condition, and was with great difficulty
kept from mortification. His wife exerted her-
self so much in her care of him as to bring on
a violent illness, in which at one time she was
supposed to be dead. His mother wrote, before
hearing of this : —
^*How much, my dearest child, must you have
suffered. I have been flattered with your having
everything comfortable, and your own manner of
writing, led me into the same mistake ; which
made me the less lament the non-arrival of the
things I sent. Capt M. is surprised they are not
295
ELIZA PINCKNEY
yet received, as lie thinks they must be safe, he
was so good to direct them to the care of Major
Mony, how they have missed you I can't imagine
but greatly regret. I re Joyce at your being able to
be removed to Mrs Motte's.''
So the hardly gathei'ed comforts were ap-
parently intercepted.
The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel ;
and the kindness of the British officers on
which Mrs. Pinckney dwells with such simple
gratitude was by no means " pure unasking
kindness." It was at this time their policy to
try by every means in their power to induce the
most prominent among the American officers
to abandon their cause and enlist in his
Majesty's service. They pointed out that tliey
were prisoners, and might always remain so ;
that their country was subjugated, etc., and
made liberal offers of pardon and favor from
the King.
Tlie former governor. Lord Charles Montagu,
who had been on friendly terms with many
of them, exerted himself particularly in
this way. The admirable letter in which Gen-
eral Moultrie replied to his offers is well known.
Similar advances were made both to Major
Pinckney and to Colonel C. C. Pinckney, who
had been, ever since the fall of Charles Town,
eating his heart out in confinement at Snee.
29G
END OF THE REVOLUTION
The Family Legend preserves for us a few of
the answei's of the hitter to such overtures.
He wrote to Major Mony, mentioned before as
assisting his brotlier : —
^'I entered into this cause after reflection and
through principle ; my heart is altogether Ameri-
can, and neither severity, nor favour, nor poverty,
nor affluence can ever induce me to swerve from it."
To Captain McMahon, another British officer,
lie says : —
^'The freedom and independence of my Country
are the Gods of my Idolatry. I mean to rejoin
the American Army as soon after my exchange as
I possibly can, I will exert my abilities to the
utmost in the cause I am engaged in, and to obtain
success, will attempt every measure that is not
cruel or dishonourable."
His friend and brother-in-law, Edward Rut-
ledge, wrote asking what he would do if set
at liberty ; he answered : —
" You, My dear Ned, may be assured that T will
not do any tiling, however I may be oppressed at
which my friends may blush. If I had a vein that
did not beat witli love for my country, I myself
would open it. If I had a drop of blood that could
flow dishonourably, I myself would let it out.
AVhenever asked the question you mention, I will
297
ELIZA PINCKNEY
give it sucli an answer as is becoming an American
officer, a man of honour, and a devotee to the free-
dom and independence of his Country. '^
In the following January, Major Pinckney
was sent down to Charles I'own, still travel-
lino: in a wao'on, and not able to bear more than
twelve miles a day. After some time he was
sent with liis brother and other officers to the
American headquarters at Philadelphia; but
months more elapsed before they were ex-
changed, and assigned to duty with Washing-
ton's army, where they participated in the
closing scenes of the war, — Yorktown, etc.
At this time, after the battle of Camden, the
seaboard of Carolina was completely in the
power of the British ; but in the great swamps
Marion and his men still lurked, darting out
to strike a blow whenever opportunity offered ;
and in the upper districts, Sumter, Washington,
Hampton, Pickens, and other bold riders were
gathering strength. Governor Rutledge, inde-
fatigable in raising money and supplies, went
from point to point near the North Carolina
border, organizing and encouraging the parti-
sans ; and Congress sent General Greene to
take the chief command. With him came
Harry Lee of Virginia and his legion of light-
horse. It was in the May following Major
Pinckney's departure that Mrs. Motte with her
298
END OF THE REVOLUTION
two unmarried danghtcrs and Mrs. Thomas
Pinckncj, wlio remained with her, were re-
moved by order of the British colonel, McPher-
son, from her own house, a large new one,
to an outbuilding, some distance off. The
English occupied the large house as a sort of
fort, having surrounded it by a high stockade,
and keeping regular guard. It thus formed
one of a semi-circle of fortified posts, extending
from Charles Town to Augusta, and its name of
'* St. Joseph's " was changed to " Fort Motte."
The ladies, whose little dwelling was with-
out the stockade, all being ardently patriotic,
managed to keep up communication with
Marion and Lee, who were hovering near. At
last Colonel Lee reluctantly informed Mrs.
Motte that the good of the cause required the
destruction of her fine new house, as there
was no way of dislodging the British but by
burning it to the ground. Instead of remon-
strating or lamenting, Mrs. Motte instantly
agreed to the sacrifice, and said that she would
herself provide the means of setting it on fire.
She produced from '' the top of an old ward-
robe " a quiver of East Indian arrows, which,
when they struck, burst into flame. Tliey had
been given, many years before, by the captain of
an East Indiaman, to her brother. Miles Brew-
ton, and had on his death come into her pos-
299
ELIZA PINCKNEY
session. She explained their use to Colonel Lee,
who, sending his sharp-shooters into the tall
trees about, made them fire the arrows from
their rifles to the shingle roof. The flames
burst out, and the English soldiers flew to ex-
tinguish them ; but the riflemen picked off
every man as he appeared, and in a few mo-
ments the white flag of surrender was hung
out. Then both parties joined in extinguishing
the flames, and the body of the house was
saved. More singular is it that the oflicers of
both parties dined together that evening with
Mrs. Motte, who received all with equal cour-
tesy. Marion, Lee, and John Eager Howard
were present.
The manuscript from which this account is
taken is by the eldest grandson of Mrs. Motte,
C. C. Pincknoy, Esq. His cousin, Mrs. Rut-
ledge (Mrs. Horry's daughter), adds some
details, and concludes : —
^'Mrs Motte always used the case which bad held
the arrows as a knitting needle case. [Tlie long
wooden needles on which the ladies of that day
used to knit the wool from their own flocks, which
they or their maids had spun.] I have played
with it many a time by her side while she talked
with my mother and uncle, General Thomas Pinck-
ney, about the times of British oppression in this
country."
800
END OF rUE REVOLUTION
The present writer remembers the case well ;
it was a long bamboo quiver, with figures in
dark brown, carved upon the lighter brown
beneath.
The sufferings of the people, and especially
of the soldiers, at this time were severe. The
men at Valley Forge suffered more because
of the colder climate ; but of hunger, nakedness,
and want of every sort the accounts of the
contemporary historians, Ramsay and Moultrie,
tell a dreadful tale. The following letter,
written by Mrs. Pinckney from her compara-
tively sheltered position in Charles Town,
shows how little the guarantees of protection
to property given at the surrender of the town
had been observed. It is to an English friend,
who had returned home, worn out by six years
of war : —
^^ I am sorry I am under a necessity to send this
unaccompanied with the amount of my account due
to you. It may seem strange that a single woman,
accused of no crime, who had a fortune to live Gen-
teelly in any part of the world, that fortune too in
different kinds of propert^^, and in four or five dif-
ferent parts of the countrj'^, should in so short a
time be so entirely deprived of it as not to be able
to pay a debt under sixt}^ pound sterling, but such
is my singular case. After the many losses I have
met with, for the last three or four desolating years
301
ELIZA PINCKNEY
from fire and plunder, both in Country and Town,
I still had something to subsist upon, but alas the
hand of power has deprived me of the greatest part
of that, and accident of the rest. Permit me to
particularize in part, or you may possibly think me
mistaken in what I have now asserted, as a strange
concurrence of circumstances must happen before a
person situated as I was, should become thus desti-
tute of tlie means of paying a small debt.
*' The labor of the slaves I had working at my
son Charles' sequestrated Estate by Mr Crudens
permission, [Mr. Cruden appears to have been in
possession of Col. Pinckney's Estate, as he also
occupied his house in town] has not produced one
farthing since the fall of Charles Town. Between
thirty and forty head of tame cattle, which I had
on tlie same plantation, with the same permission,
was taken last November by Major Yarborough
and his party for tlie use of the army, for which I
received nothing.
*'My house in Ellory Street, which Capt IMc-
Mahon put me in possession of soon after I came
to Town, and which I immediately rented at one
hundred per annum sterling, was in a short time
after filled with Hessians, to the great detriment of
tlie house and annoyance of the tenant, who would
pay me no more for tlie time he was in it, than
twelve guineas. I applied to a Board of Field
Officers wdiich was appointed to regulate those
matters, they gave it as their opinion that I ought
to be paid for the time it had been, and the time it
302
END OF THE REVOLUTION
should be, in the Service of Government, which it
is to tliis day. I applied as directed for payment,
but received nothing. Even a little hovel, which
I built to please one of my negroes and which in
the late great demand for houses would have been
of service to me, was taken from me, and all my
endeavors to get it again proved fruitless.
"My plantation up the path, [namely, the old
Indian path, the precursor of the present State
Koad, leading up the country] which I hired to
Mr Simpson for fifty guineas the last year, and
had agreed with him for eighty guineas for the
present year, was taken out of his possession and I
am told Major Fraiser now has it for the use of
the Cavalry, and Mr Simpson does not seem in-
clined to pay me for the last half year of the j^ear
1781. To my regret and to the great prejudice
of the place, the wood has also been all cut down
for the use of the Garrison, for which I have not
got a penny. The negroes I had in town are
sometimes impressed on the public works and make
the fear of being so a pretence for doing nothing.
Two men and two women bring me small wages
but part of that I was robbed of before it reached
me.
"I have a right to a third of the rent of two
good houses in Town, each of which I could have
rented at three hundred pounds per annum ster-
ling, but the government allows but a hundred and
fifty pounds sterling for each, so that about two
hundred pounds which I received at different
303
ELIZA PINCKNEY
times in the course of last j^ear, from Mr Cruden
or by his order, is all the money I have been pos-
sessed of except very trifling sums for two j^ears
past.
^'Forgive good sir, this tedious recital and pre-
sent my affectionate Compliments to Mrs G. 'Tis
long since I saw my son Charles, and have no pros-
pect of seeing him soon, but am very certain he
would do every thing in his power to serve her.
*^ . . . Since the above I have seen an adver-
tisement in a Charles Town paper which gives me
some hopes of getting something for my wood; Mr
Johnston, before I left Charles Town was so good
to offer to do me any service in his power, I am
sure he has not been wanting in applying for it.
I write to him at this time to put the first money
of mine which he has in his hands in discharge of
your account, should he not have received any I
must, though reluctantly^, beg your patience till
I can raise as much."
This was in May, 1782 ; but " the day is
darkest before the dawn," and slowly but
surely the Americans were gaining ground,
pushing the British back to the immediate
vicinity of Charles Town. By August of the
same year the people knew that deliverance had
come, and that their oppressors were to go. In
December, the British took to their ships and
evacuated the town ; and the " Ragged Con-
tinentals " marched proudly in.
30-1
END OF THE REVOLUTION
The writer has often heard her grandmother
tell how she stood, a little girl clinging to her
mother's hand, to see the greeting, — the joy,
the tears, the shouts, the sobs, as that war-worn
band came down the streets. Perhaps the
people at first hardly recognized all that came
with it. Peace, — but peace with how many
changes ! The country, still torn and bleeding,
was free. It was no longer a Province, but the
State of South Carolina. The North American
Colonies were the United States ; and, the long
struggle ended, the men who had fought to pull
down, had now to build up, and to rear from
the fragments of the old system the new edifice
which was to amaze the world.
20 305
XV
OLD AGE AND DEATH
1783-1793
Henceforth we have but few letters of Mrs.
Pinckney's. Age w^as approaching, and her
chief interests were near at hand. Fortunes
were destroyed or impaired ; and with the
courage and hopefulness which are the best
heritage of Carolinians, all, men and w^omen
alike, set themselves to the task of renewing
their fallen State.
Colonel Horry died of country fever not long
after the close of the war, and from that time
forth Mrs. Pinckney shared her daughter's
home. Colonel Horry had previously taken his
only son, Daniel (the " dear babe " of thirteen
years before), to England for his education.
The boy was said to have " extraordinary
quick parts," but to be idle and wilful. The
country was still too troubled for quiet study,
and his grandmother was anxious that he
sliould tread in tlie footsteps of her own sons.
Most of the remaining letters are to him.
306
OLD AGE AND DEATH
Colonel Charles Coteswortli Pinckney lost
his wife (Miss Middleton) about tliis time,
and brought his three daughters to share his
mother's and sister's care. The rest of Mrs.
Pinckney's life was chiefly devoted to the
training of these children, and of Mrs. Horry's
only daughter, Harriott. The four grew up
under her immediate influence ; they lived to
within the memory of the existing generation ;
and it is from their conversation that the pres-
ent writer (grand-daughter and great-niece) has
gathered the traditions here told. Mrs. Pinck-
ney's sons were busily occupied with their own
and with public affairs. Colonel C. C. Pinck-
ney, as a member of the Constitutional Con-
vention, helped to frame the Constitution of the
United States, which his brother signed as
Governor of his State. The letters to her
grandson sliow touchingly their mother's per-
fect happiness in these beloved children, —
that greatest happiness which age can know,
a virtuous pride in virtuous sons.
She writes to the boy, urging a close atten-
tion to his studies, and exclaims, " An idle man
is a burthen to society and to himself, how ab-
surdly connected are the words — ' an illiterate
gentleman.' " She continues : —
''Witli the most resigned acquiescence in the
Divine Will, I submit to the loss of Fortune,
307
ELIZA PINCKNEY
when I see my dear children, after being exposed
to a variet}^ of suffering, danger and Death, alive
and well around me. And when I contemplate
with what philosophick firmness and calmness they
both of them supported pain, sickness and evils
of various sorts, and withstood the utmost efforts
of the ennemies' malice, and see with wdiat great-
ness of mind they now generousl}^ conduct them-
selves to all; my heart overflows with gratitude
to their great Preserver for continuing to me such
children. Be assured, my dear Daniel, no pleas-
ure can equal that which a mother feels when she
knows her children have acted their part well
through life, and when she sees them happy in
the consciousness of having done so. May the
Almighty in his infinite goodness and condescen-
cion accept my prayer when I earnestly entreat
that your dear and greatl}^ beloved mother may
enjoy the same comfort in seeing you and your
sister answer her most sanguine hopes : for though
I hope your Country will never want your aid in
a Millitary capacity you may be guided by the
same principles of true honour and real virtue that
have always actuated them, and though not called
exactly to the same exertion, yowx conduct in
publick and private life may Emulate the Example
they have set you, and give your mother a comfort
which nothing else can. . . .
^' When I take a retrospective view of our past
sufferings, so recent too, and compare them with
our present prospects, the change is so great and
308
OLD AGE AND DEATH
sudden it appears like a dream, and I can hardly
believe the pleasing reality, that peace, with all
its train of blessings is returned, and that every-
one may find Shelter under his own Vine and his
own Fig-tree, and be happy. Blessed be God!
the effusion of human blood is stopped. Truth
may now also appear in its full force and native
Lustre, without dread of the ojjpressive hand of
power as heretofore, when the injured were not
heard, or heard only to be treated with contempt
and insult; when in justice to themselves they
would disprove those horrid falsehoods and mis-
representations which natural malevolence or party
rage inspired. How much has this unhappy land
felt the insolence of power and wanton cruelty ; there
are but few here but can feelingly tell a tale of woe.
Were I to enumerate the distresses that have come
to my own knowledge I should distress you and
mj'Self beyond measure, for their sorrows were
greater than mine, and I experienced a large share
of the bitter portion dealt out at those evil times.
Both my Sons, their wives and Infants were ex-
iled. "Wounded sick and emaciated with a very
2:)ittance to support them in a strange Land [Phila-
delphia] they imbarked. Their estates had been
long before sequestrated and mine was shattered
and ruined, which left me little power to assist
them; nor had I in Country or Town a place to
lay my head, all was taken out of my possession ;
my house I lived in, that in Colleton Square, and
at Belmont, all was taken from me, nor was I able.
ELIZA PINCKNEY
to hire a lodging. But let me forget as soon as
I can their cruelties, I wish to forgive and will
say no more on this subject, and hope our joy and
gratitude for our great deliverance may equal our
former anguish, and our contentment in medioc-
rity, and moderation in prosperity, equal the forti-
tude with which the greatest number even of our
sex sustained the great reverse of fortune they
experienced."
Ill a subsequent letter she adds of her sons :
*^ Those firm and undaunted men in danger and
under suffering, are now among the most lenient
and merciful, using all their influence in calming
the violence of their fellow sufferers, who sore
with their recent ill usage, are ready to retalliate
those Injuries they have received, (at least in
part,) now the powder is in their hand; and this
they can do with a good grace, and their reasoning
sometimes moderates the violence.''
This alludes to the measures of retaliation
(chiefly by fines) now advocated against the
Tories. As is usual in such cases, the men who
had fought were, now that peace had come, the
most willing to forgive and forget.
General Marion exerted his great influence
in behalf of those against whom he had so
persistently made war, and the Pinckneys and
many other gallant soldiers took the same part.
The penalties inflicted were comparatively few
310
OLD AGE AND DEATH
and light ; but years were to pass before people
could generally believe, as was said by an emi-
nent jurist, that " all the vices were not in a
Tory camp, or all the virtues in a Rebel one."
The last public appearance of Mrs. Pinckney
was one in which she must have taken great
delight. It was when in 1791 General Wash-
ington, on his southern tour, stopped to break-
fast at Hampton. We all have heard of his
" Most Sacred Majesty's disjune at Tillietud-
lem," the abiding pride of Lady Margaret Bel-
lenden. Even such was the pride and pleasure
of Mrs. Pinckney and her family, in receiving
the "Father of his Country." The general
left Georgetown early, and, travelling with four
horses, reached Hampton on the South Santee
by eleven, having crossed three large rivers in
the fifteen-mile drive. He was accompanied
by Major Pinckney and several other gentlemen,
and turned aside about a mile from the hiorh-
road to breakfast with the ladies. He was
received by Mrs. Horry, with her mother on
the one hand, her daughter on the other, and
her nieces around her, under the handsome
new portico with lofty columns which she had
just added to the house.
The ladies were arrayed in sashes and ban-
deaux painted with the general's portrait and
mottoes of welcome ; and after a stately re-
311
ELIZA PINCKNEY
ception he was led to the large ball-room, just
built, where an elaborate breakfast awaited
him, the gentlemen of his suite, and many of
the neighbors, who had gathered to greet him.
Before leaving, he observed a handsome young
oak growing rather too near the house, which
Mrs. Horry proposed to cut down, as it inter-
fered with the view. The general advised
that it should be kept, as an oak was a thing
no man could make ; and there it still stands, —
'' Washington's Oak " unto this day.
That grief of advancing years, the frequent
loss of friends, was now Mrs. Pinckney's. She
had to mourn the death of the lady with whom,
ever since her return from England, she had
been most intimate, — Lady Mary Mackenzie,
who, having married, first, Mr. Drayton, and,
secondly, Mr. Ainslie, became lastly the fourth
wife of the Hon. Henry Middleton. This lady
had long lived in the closest friendsliip with
Mrs. Pinckney and Mrs. Horry, being god-
mother to the daughter of the latter. She died
at sea on her return from a visit to England,
and Mrs. Horry writes to her sister, Lady
Augusta Murray, that her mother was over-
whelmed with grief. Mrs. Pinckney probably
had this in mind when she wrote the following
to her friend Mr. Keate, — the last letter that
we have from her pen : —
312
OLD AGE AND DEATH
How good you were, my dear sir, to think of
me again, the second of August, before I had an-
swered your favor of the fifth of July, I feel
very sensibly the kindness, and be assured the
satisfaction your letters give me is among the first
pleasures I enjoy. How often do I congratulate
myself that although my acquaintance in the early
part of life was chiefly among those older than my-
self, I was so happy to have gained a few valuable
friends among those that were younger, and of these
none stands higher in my affection and esteem than
my much valued friend Mr Keate. He, Heaven
be praised, is still left to me; how conducive to the
enjoyment of life are those we have long known!
^' A friend that has many years been ripening by
our side ^Ms a treasure indeed, and at a season too
when time has robbed us of almost all the delights
produced by an intercourse of amity with those
with whom we have been early connected.
Outliving those we love is what gives the prin-
cipal gloom to long protracted life. There was
never anything very tremendous to me in the pros-
pect of old age, the loss of friends excepted, but
this loss I have keenly felt. This is all the terror
that the Spectre with the Scythe and Hour-glass
ever exhibited to my view, Nor since the arrival
of this formidable period have I had anything else
to deplore from it. I regret no pleasures that I
can't enjoy, and I enjoy some that I could not
have had at an early season. I now see my chil-
dren grown up, and, blessed be God! see them such
313
ELIZA PINCKNEY
as I hoped. Wliat is there in youthful enjoyment
preferable to this? Wliat is there in youthful en-
joyment preferable to passions subdued ? what to
the tranquility which the calm evening of life natu-
rally produces ? Sincere is my gratitude to Heaven
for the advantages of this period of life, as well as
for those that are passed.
Pray receive my best thanks for the Elegant
Edition you sent me of your poetical works, those
and most of your other works I had before though
not in so rich a dress, and have often perused them
with great pleasure, unconnected with the Idea of
their being the production of your pen. Their
literary merit others enjoy, as well as myself, but
when I consider the virtues they inculcate as being
all 3^our own, and flowing from the Benevolent
Heart of my friend, I then look upon myself as
particularly interested in them. I think myself
in company with you, I hear you speak, I recollect
the happy hours we liave passed together with my
ever dear Mr Pinckney, whose virtues I still re-
vere, whose memory I tenderly love, and whose
uncommon affection and partiality to me will be
gratefully remembered to my last hour. ... A
thousand, thousand thanks to you, for your good-
ness to my dear Daniel. You are no doubt ac-
quainted with the loss of his poor father. All my
children join in thanks for your kind remembrance
of them and beg j^ou and Mrs Keate will accept
of their affectionate respect. Compliments is too
cold a word, therefore pray give my love to Mrs
314
OLD AGE AND DEATH
Keate, in that every good wish is expressed, and
conclude me,
your affectionate and obliged friend,
E. PiNCKNEY.
South Carolina,
Hampton April 2d. 1786.
The last sentence is a fitting end to the cor-
respondence of this loving-hearted woman.
The end which comes to all came to her sof-
tened by " Honour, love, obedience, troops of
friends," and, above all, by the cheerful, strong
resignation which time and trouble had never
shaken. Her granddaughter, in the Family
Legend, dwells lovingly on this trait of her
character, which she taught to the young people
about her, and which served some of them well
m far distant and troublous times. Her favo-
rite hymn was Addison's, —
" When all thy mercies, 0 my God,
My rising soul surveys ; "
and she dwelt particularly to them on the duty
expressed in the lines : —
" Nor is the least a cheerful heart
That takes those gifts with joy."
Much physical pain and suffering were hers.
Attacked by mortal disease, it was decided that
she should go to Philadelphia, in the hope that
superior surgical skill might give relief. She
315
ELIZA PINCKNEY
embarked, accompanied by her daughter and
three granddaughters on the 10th of April,
1793. A rough passage of ten days exhausted
her, and on reaching Philadelphia she was very
ill. Congress was sitting, and friends, old and
new, met them.
Mrs. Horry records in her diary the kindness
of many of these : " Mrs. Izard's coach met
us at the landing and conveyed us to our lodg-
ing at the Corner of Spruce and Third Street,
opposite Mr. Binghams gardens [Mrs. Izard
was Miss DeLancey of New York, wife of Ealpli
Izard, Senator from South Carolina]. Many
people called. During the week we were vis-
ited by several ladies and gentlemen, Mrs.
Chew, Bingham, Powell, Burrows, Harrison,
DeBrahm, Kean, Hamilton, Hyrne, Iredell and
Cadwallader. The President, Mr. Bingham,
Jackson, Logan, Burrows, Col. Hamilton, Gen'ls
Stewart and Lincoln, Judge Iredell etc, etc.
Gen Washington was extremely kind, and said,
as Mrs. Washington was sick, he offered in her
name as well as his own everything in their
power to serve us, and begged we would use no
ceremony."
It all pleased the sick woman, for she re-
ceived it, as indeed it was, as respect shown to
her sons ; but she was really dying, although
then they did not know it. For some time the
31G
OLD AGE AND DEATH
doctors gave them much encouragement, but
she grew suddenly worse, and on May 26,
after " several hours of great agony, it pleased
Almighty God to take her to himself."
Her sons were absent in the last hour, — the
elder in Carolina, not suspecting so rapid a ter-
mination to the illness ; the younger in Eng-
land as Minister to the Court of St. James ;
but love and honor were around her, and, gently
supported by loving hands, she went to her rest.
She was buried in St. Peter's churchyard,
Philadelphia, May 27, 1793; General Wash-
ington himself, at his own request, acting as
one of her pall-bearers.
No account of Mrs. Pinckney would be com-
plete without some notice of the result of her
life-work. She had spared no sacrifice or pain
to train the young minds given to her care, and
she was greatly revvai'ded. The services of her
sons to their country continued with their lives.
They were chosen by Washington himself for
important offices, and performed them well, —
Thomas Pinckney being sent as Minister to
England and to Spain, where he negotiated the
important Treaty of San Ildefonso, which se-
cured to the United States the Florida boun-
dary and the free navigation of the Mississippi.
Colonel C. C. Pinckney was sent by Mr. Jef-
ferson on the more difficult mission to the
317
ELIZA PINCKNEY
French Directory in 1797, — a mission which
failed in its first effort (tlie securing of peace)
because of the dishonorable terms proposed.
It was in answer to these that the indignant
Carolinian declared that his country would
give "millions for defence, but not one cent
\for tribute," — an utterance which has never
been forgotten.
Colonel Pinckney showed his unselfish patri-
otism in another instance, perhaps more re-
markable, as touching a matter dear to a
soldier's heart, — his military precedence. He
found on his return from France that in prep-
aration for the expected war. Colonel Hamil-
ton had been appointed First Major-General in
the new organization, he himself the second, and
General Knox the third. Knox thouglit him-
self wronged, and refused the nomination ; but
Pinckney said that he was satisfied that Wash-
ington had good reasons for the appointment.
"Let us first dispose of our enemies, we shall
then have time to settle the question of rank."
And he offered to let Knox have the second
place, and take the third himself.
Both brothers were candidates for the presi-
dency, and both were unsuccessful on account
of party complications. Party spirit then ran
high between Federalist and Democrat; but even
Mr. Randall, the biographer of Jefferson, the
318
OLD AGE AND DEATH
litterest antagonist of the Federalists, makes
n honorable exception of the " Rutledges and
'inckneys " in the accusations which he heaps
ipon most of their party.
To be the "friends of Washington" was
ver the pride of the two brothers. Their
oyalty to him never failed, and he regarded
hem with tlie utmost confidence. Perhaps no
aore remarkable letter ever was w^ritten than
hat addressed by General Washington to Gen-
ral C. C. Pinckney and his partner, Mr. Ed-
rard Rutledge, in which he offers the position
if Associate Judge in the Supreme Court of
he United States, left vacant by the resigna-
ion of Mr. John Rutledge, and says, " Will
ither of you gentlemen accept it, and if so,
diich?"
Almost equally remarkable are the answers
»f the two friends, in w^hich, after the most
espectful thanks, they decline the high prefer-
nent, because, in the existing condition of po-
itical feeling, they think they can be of most
ise to the country in the legislature of their
lative State.
In 1812, Thomas Pinckney was made Major-
general commanding the Southern Division,
)ut no very important service fell to his share,
rhe latter years of the two brothers were de-
moted to their family, friends, and people. They
319
ELIZA PINCKNEY
were the kindest and most humane of masters,
and by their inherited love of agricultural ex-
periment helped much to develop the resources
of their State.
Of Mrs. Pinckney's daughter, Mrs. Horry,
we have already seen much. She, too, inher-
ited her mother's business talent, managed, as
she had done, through years of widowhood, a
large estate with ability and wisdom, and lived
to a great old age, happy and beloved.
The descendants of these children were, of
General C. C. Pinckney, three daughters only.
Of these, the youngest, Eliza, married Mr. Ralph
Izard, and left no children. The eldest, Miss
Maria Henrietta Pinckney, was a woman of mas-
culine intellect ; she wrote the little paper so
often referred to as the Family Legend ; and a
Political Catechism, embodying the southern,
doctrine of States' Rights, published by her in
1831 or 1832, is esteemed a wonderfully clear
and forcible exposition of that faith. The second
daughter. Miss Harriott Pinckney, long survived
both her sisters, living to within the last thirty
years, distinguished for benevolence and cheer-
ful piety. While rich, she used her great
wealth for others ; reduced to poverty, she
bore her trials and privations without a mur-
mur, shaming by her sweetness and courage the
fainter hearts of the younger generations, and
320
OLD AGE AND DEATH
dyin.G^ at tlie age of ninety-one, an exemplar of
tlie virtues of earlier times.
General Thomas Pinckney left two sons, —
Thomas, who married Miss Izard and left
daughters only ; and Charles Cotesworth, who
married ^liss Elliott. All the descendants of
Chief Justice Pinckney who inherit his name
come from this marriage, the Rev. C. C. Pinck-
ney, Rector of Grace Church, Charleston, be-
ing the head of the family. General Thomas
Pinckney left also two daughters : the elder
married the Hon. William Lowndes ; the younger,
Colonel Francis Kinloch Huger.
Mrs. Horry had but two children: Daniel, who,
having been sent to England very young, be-
came so attached to European life that he
never returned to America except on visits. He
settled in France, where he married the niece of
General La Fayette, Eleonore de Fay la Tour
Maubourg, daughter of the Comte de la Tour
Maubourg. They left no children. A lovely
picture of this lady still exists. A portrait of
her husband (who, dropping the name of
Daniel, called himself Charles Lucas Pinckney
Horry), a most beautiful painting by Romney,
was unhappily destroyed in 1865. It w^as a
fuU-leng-th picture representing a handsome
youth in college gown and buff satin breeches.
He held his cap in his hand, and seemed step-
21 321
ELIZA PINCKNEY
ping from the doorway (beautifully painted)
of Trinity College, Cambridge. Mrs. Horry's
only daughter married Frederick, son of Gov-
ernor John Rutledge, and has numerous
descendants.
In ending this account of the life and labors
of this southern matron of the old time, 1 can-
not refrain from saying one word in behalf of
the bygone civilization and especially of the
class which she exemplified. It was, as we are
often told, indolent, ignorant, self-indulgent,
cruel, overbearing. Does this life (and such
were the lives of many) show these faults ? Is
it not, rather, active, useful, and merciful, ac-
cepting without hesitation the conditions it
found, and doing its utmost to make those
conditions good ?
If I have succeeded in making this plain,
then I liave not written in vain. The women
of all the colonies had committed to them a
great though an unsuspected charge : to fit
themselves and their sons to meet the coming
change (self-government) in law and soberness ;
not in riot and anarcliy, as did the unhappy
women of the French Revolution.
Those of tlie southern states had more to do.
They had to train and teach a race of savages,
— a race which had never known even the ru-
diments of decency, civilization, or religion; a
322
OLD AGE AND DEATH
race which, despite the labors of colonists and
missionaries, remains in Africa to-day as it was
a thousand years ago ; but a race, which, influ-
enced by these lives, taught by these southern
people for six generations, proved in the day
of trial the most faithful, the most devoted of
servants, and was declared in 1863 by the
northern people worthy to be its equal in civil
and political rights.
323
INDEX
Albermakl, Lord, 15.
Alston, Mrs. W., anecdote of,
286.
Americans, petition of, to the
King, 252.
Amherst, General, 199.
Anne, Queen, proclamation of,
on money values, 119.
Ashley Barony, the, 23G.
Atkin, Lady Ann, 227.
Augusta, Princess, 147.
Bartlett, Miss, letters to, 11
et seq.
Bartlett, Mrs., letter to, 94.
Beddington, 159; an orphan
asylum, 226.
Belmont, description of, 101.
Blake, Governor, 236.
Blake, Mrs., 236.
Boddicott, Mrs., superintends
education of Miss Lucas, 3;
letters to, 5 et seq.
Bonnett, Steed, piratical career
of, 83 et seq.
Braithwait, Colonel, 19.
Brewton, Miles, 110.
Brewton, Mrs. M., 236.
Broderick, Admiral, 159.
Bull, Governor William, en-
ergy of, 204.
Bull, Mrs.. 236.
Butler, Miss, 227.
Campbell, Colonel, 269.
Campbell, Lord W., Governor
of the Province, departure
of, 269 i death of, 269.
Carew, Lady, letters to, 92 et
seq. ; death of, 226.
Carew, Sir Nicholas, 92.
Caroline of Anspach, Queen of
George IL, 143.
Caroline, Princess, 148.
Cussique of Kiawah, storv of,
40.
Cecilia Society, St., description
of, 230.
Chardon, Mrs., 39; marriage
of, 40.
Charles Town, in 1741, 18;
social gayeties of, 19 ; de-
scription of, in 1692, 72 ;
effect on. of the hurricane of
1752, 138; armed resistance
of, begun, 268; siege of, 279;
capitulation of, to the British,
280; treatment of people of,
282 ; evacuation of, 304.
Chatlield, Mrs,, 159; letter to,
182.
825
INDEX
Chesterfield, Lord, gift to,
131.
Clarke, Rev. Dr., 228.
Clay, Mrs., kindness of, to
Major Pinckney, 292.
Cleland, Mrs., triendsliip of,
for Miss Lucas, 25.
Clinton, Sir Henry, capture by,
of Charles Town, 280.
Corbett, Mr., 155.
Cornwallis, Lord, succeeds Sir
H. Clinton, 281; victory at
Camden, 291.
Cotesworth, Mary, 71 ; second
marriage of, 80.
Courtenay, William A., quota-
tion from, 77.
Coventry, Countess of, 215.
Cromartie, Earl of, 188.
Crowfield, description of, 53.
Dancing Assembly, 230.
De Brahm, Surveyor, on sects
in Charles Town, 24.
Delance, Mr., 238; death of,
239.
D'Estaing, Count, lays siege to
Savannah, 279.
Deveaux, Mr., 39.
Dobinure, Captain, engaged in
a duel, 9.
Drayton Hall, description of,
42.
Drayton, Mrs., 42; invitation
from, 227.
Drayton, William Henry, 181;
order of, as president of
the Provincial Congress,
266.
Edward, Prince, 148.
Edwards, Vigorous, letters to,
191 et seq.
Elizabeth, Princess, 147.
Eugene, Prince, quoted, 15.
Evance, Mrs., 172; letters to,
179 tt Stq.
Faykweatiier, Miss Fanny,
59.
Fraser, Charles, Reminiscences
of Charleston, 229.
Gadsden, Christopher, 266,
Garden, Rev. Commissary,
prefers charges against
Whitfield, 22; honored by
Linnteus, 102.
Gay, Rev. Mr., 90.
George H., King, 184 ; death
of, 215.
George HL, King, when Prince
of Wales, 148 ; coronation of,
215.
Gerrard, Mr., school of, 171;
letters to, 207 et seq.
Gherard, Mr., marriage of,
237.
Glen, Governor, 68; appoints
Colonel Pinckney Chief
Justice, 134; house of, 167.
Golightly, Miss, family of,
234; marriage of, 234 ; letter
to, 235.
Graeme, Chief Justice, death
of, 134.
Grant, Colonel, 204.
Green, Richard, in prosecution
of Whitfield, 23.
Greene, General, takes com-
mand, 298.
Hampton, situation of, 241 ;
reception at, to General
W^ashington, 311.
Henry, Prince, 147
Heron, Colonel, 60.
326
INDEX
Hicks, Mrs., school of, 58.
Horry, Charles L. P., marriage
of,'321.
Horry, Daniel, family of, 240 ;
lirst marriage of, 241 : mar-
riage of to Miss Pinckney,
241; birth of son of, 247;
birili of daughter of, 274;
capture of, 287; death of,
306.
Horry, Daniel, Jr., birth of,
247; sent to England to be
educated, 306 ; marriage of,
321.
Horry, Harriott Pinckney,
birth of, 274; earliest recol-
lection of, 286; marriage of,
322.
Horry, Thomas, 231.
Howe, General, failure of, on
Georgia expedition, 272.
Huger, Eliza, letter of, 254.
Huger, Mr., marriage of, 234.
Huger, Col. F. K., exploit of,
235 ; marriage of, 321.
Hutson, Rev. Dr., 228.
Hvrne, Mrs., invitation from,
227.
Indigo, first mention of, 7;
how made, 102 et seq. ; ex-
port of, to England, begun,
106; value of, 107.
Izard, Miss, letter to, 236 ; mar-
riage of, 209.
Izard, Ralph, 236; marriage
of, 320.
Jackson, Rev, Cyril, tutor to
C. C. Pinckne}'," 246.
Johnson, Governor, attack of,
on pirates, 83.
Johnson, Sir Nathaniel, 80;
interest of, in silk culture,
330; fort built by, 266.
327
Keate, Mr., letters to, 223 et
seq.
King, Lord, 159.
King, Mrs., 159; letters to,
190 et seq.
King, Wilhelmiua, letter of,
213.
Ladsox, Major James, 251.
Lafayette, General, marriage
of niece of, 321.
LamboU, Mr., on the hurricane
of 1752, 139.
Laurens, Henry, 228; at siege
of Charles Town, 280.
Lawson, John, account of Car-
olina, 76; description of
French Santee, 240.
Le Fdboure, Admiral M., at-
tack of, on Charles Town, 80.
Leigh, Peter, appointed Chief
Justice, 135.
Lexington, news of the battle
of, 263.
Library, Charles Town, de-
scription of, 229.
Lincoln, General, expedition
of, 272.
Logan, Mrs., 228.
Lowndes, Hon. W., marriage
of, 321.
Lucas, George, Lieutenant-
Colonel in English army, 1 ;
brings his family to South
Carolina and buys planta-
tions, 1 ; return of, to island
of Antigua, 1; appointed
Royal Governor, 1; interest
of, in cultivation of indigo,
8; business relations of, with
Colonel Pinckne}-, 121 ; death
of, 133.
Lucas, Mrs. George, delicate
health of, 1; departure of,
INDEX
for Antigua, 97; letters to,
175 et seq.
Lucas, George, Jr., enters the
English army, 12; ilhiess of,
in Antigua, 64.
Lucas, Poll}', 19; at school, 58.
Lucas, Thomas, bad heaUh of,
12 and 63; arrival of, in
Antigua, 98.
Luttrell, Major, 157.
Lyttleton, Governor, private
letters of, 195 ; note from, 227.
Mackenzie, Lady Ann, 188.
Mackenzie, Lady Mar}-, mar-
riages of, 312;'death'of, 312.
Manigault, Gabriel, patriotism
of, 154.
Manigault, Mrs., 154.
Mansion House, description of,
no.
Marion, General, first campaign
of, 204; anecdote of, 284.
Matliews, Jack, marriage of,
238.
Middleton, Arthur, 251.
Middleton, Hon. Henry, 250.
Middleton Place, 44.
Middleton, Sally, marriage of,
237.
Middleton, Sarah, marriage of,
250; death of, 307.
Middleton, Co'.onel Thomas, 204.
Montagu, Lady C, invitation
from, 227; regard of, for
Miss Pinckney, 232.
Montagu, Lord C., 227.
Montagu, Ladv Mary Wortlev,
142.
Montgomery, Colonel, 199.
Morley, George, 172; letters
to, 173 et seq.
Motte, Elizabeth, marriage of,
274.
Motte, Mary, anecdote of, 286.
Motte, Mrs., anecdote of, 299.
Moultrie, General, first cam-
paign of, 204; from the Me-
moirs of, 262.
Murray, Hon. George, mar-
riage of, 188.
Murray, Lady A., 312.
NoRBERKY, Captain, killed in
a duel, 9.
OcKHAM Court, 159.
Oglethorpe, General, attacks
of, on the Spaniards, 14;
invites Whitfield to Caro-
lina, 22; dislike of Miss
Lucas for, 60; trial and ac-
quittal of, 62.
Onslow, Colonel, 159.
Onslow, Mrs., 159.
Pickens, General, first cam-
])aign of, 204.
Pinckney, Colonel Charles,
acquaintance of, with Miss
Lucas, 15; marriage of, to
Miss Lucas, 08; boyhood and
youth of 79, et seq. ; first
marriage of, 87 ; character,
disposition and appearance
of, 87; business relations of,
v/ith Governor Lucas, 121;
appointment of, as Chief Jus-
tice, L34; made Commissioner
of the Colony in London, 135;
departure of, for England,
141 ; return of, to Carolina,
366; death of, 167; will of,
184; portraits of, 199.
Pinckney, Mrs. diaries, letter
to, 15; fondness of, for Miss
Lucas, 26 : death of, 67.
328
INDEX
Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth,
birth of, 108; at school in
England, IGU; at school at
Westminster, 211; graduated
at Oxford, studies law, and is
admitted to the bar, 2-lG; re-
turn of, to Carolina, 247;
patriotism of, 247; marriage
of, 250; made Captain ou
breaking out of the Revolu-
tion, 200; serves as aide to
General Washington, 271;
made Colonel and serves un-
der General Howe, 271 ; cap-
ture of, 281 ; birth of a son to,
292; daughters of, 307; mem-
ber of the Constitutional Con-
vention, 307; mission of, to
the French Directory, 317;
anecdote of, 318; candidate
for the presidency, 318; de-
scendants of, 320.
Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth,
Jr., birth of, 292.
Pinckney, Eliza, marriage of,
320.
Pinckney, Eliza Lucas, ar-
rival of, in South Carolina,
1; education of, in England,
3; assumes direction of plan-
tation, 4; description of her
home in Carolina, 5; her
love of agriculture, 7; spe-
cial interest of, in cultiva-
tion of indigo, 8; manner of,
in girlhood, 11; letters of,
to her father, 13 tt seq.;
letters of, to Mrs. Pinckney,
15 e.t seq.; acquaintance of,
with Colonel Charles Pinck-
ney, 15: letters of, to her
brother George, 17 et seq.;
passion of, for music, 27 ; let-
ters of, to Colonel Pinckney,
29 et seq.; daily life of, in
the country, 30; her love of
nature, 36; legal studies of,
52; on marriage, 55; dis-
like of, for General Ogle-
thorpe, 60; marriage of, to
Colonel Pinckney, 68; in de-
fence of her husband's char-
acter, 95; birth of first son
of, 108; "Resolutions" of,
115; experiments of, with
flax and hemp, 124; under-
takes the cultivation of silk,
130; death of the father and
second child of, 133; birth of
second son of, 136; depart-
ure of, for England, 141;
takes a house in Richmond,
141; experience of, with
small-pox, 143; account of
visit to widowed Princess
of Wales, 144; admiration of,
for Garrick, 159; alarm of,
concerning depredations of
the French, 162; return of, to
Carolina, 166; death of hus-
band of, 167; letters of, to
her sons, 170 et seq. ; return
of, to Belmont, 188; planta-
tion life of, 190; severe ill-
ness of, 201; letters of, to
English friends, 206 et seq.;
marriage of daughter of,
241 ; letters of, to Daniel
Horry, 243 et seq.; letters
of, to her daughter, 258 et
seq.; courage and loyalty of,
on breaking out of Revolu-
tion, 269; entertains General
Washington, 311: illness of,
315; journey to Philadelphia,
316; death "of, 317; burial of,
317.
329
INDEX
Pinckney, Harriott, birth of,
136 ; visit of, to widowed
PriHcess of Wales, 144:; re-
turn of, to Carolina, 16G ; por-
trait of, 231; letters of, 231,
tt seq.; marriage of, 241;
birth of son of, 247; letters
to, 252 et seq. ; alarm of, 2G7 ;
adventure of, with General
Marion, 284; receives Gen-
eral Washington, 311; jour-
ney of, to Philadelphia, 312;
descendants of, 32J.
Pinckney, Maria Henrietta,
author of Family Legend,
1G8 and 320.
Pinckne}', Thomas, birth of,
136; on law of primogeni-
ture, 208 ; at school at West-
minster, 211; visit of, to
Carolina, 251; studies of, at
Caen, 251; return of, to
Carolina, 257 ; first appear-
ance of, in court, 260; made
Captain on breaking out of
Revolution, 26G; military his-
tory of, 270; made Major,
272; marriage of, 274; es-
cape of, from Charles Town,
281; wounded and captured
at battle of Camden, 291;
removal of. 295; joins Wash-
ington's army, 298; minister
to England and Spain, 317;
candidate for the presidency,
318: made Major-General in
1812, 319; descendants of,
321.
Pringle, Miss, 110.
Prioleau, Mrs. S., funeral of,
25fi.
Provost, General, attack of, on
Charles Town in 1779, 169;
marches to besiege Charles
Town, 275 ; defeat and retreat
of, 279.
QuiNCY, Josiah, description
by, of Charles Town library,
229; on the St. Cecilia So-
ciety, 230.
Resolutions of Mrs. Pinck-
ney, 115.
Rutledge, Andrew, in defence
of Whitfield, 23.
Rutledge, Edward, letter of
Washington to, 319.
Rutledge, Frederick, marriage
of, 322.
Rutledge, Governor, escape of,
from Charles Town, 281.
SA>iDFOKD, Robert, 40.
Savannah, siege of, 279.
Sayle, Governor, 4.
Serr(?, Miss, marriage of, 241.
Shaftesbury Papers, quoted, 4,
40.
Shubrick, Mrs., offer of, 202.
Smith, Landgrave, 72.
Stamp Act, reception of, in
Carolina, 249.
Stobo, Rev. Mr., called to
Charles Town, 80.
Tarlkton, Colonel, anecdote
of, 285.
Theatre, Charleston, 229.
Tradd, Elizabeth, 74.
Tradd, Richard, 74.
Tradd, Robert, first male child
born in Charles Town, 74.
Trapier, Miss, letter of, 264.
Vernon, Admiral, capture by,
of Porto-Bello, 13.
330
INDEX
Wales, Princess Dowager of,
gift lo, i;il; life of, at Kew,
144; visit of Mrs. Pinckney
to, 144.
Washington, General, enter-
tainment of, at Hampton,
311; a pall-bearer at Mrs.
rinckney's funeral, 317; let-
ter of, 319.
Washington's Oak, 312.
Wells, Kobert, bookshop of, 228.
Whitfield, Rev. George, eccle-
siastical trial of, 21.
William, Prince, 147.
Woodward, Dr., 40.
Woodward, Mrs., 39; letters
to, 141 et seq.
Worley, Kicliard, piratical ca-
reer of, 83.
Wragg, Miss, marriage of, 238.
YEAMAhS, Sir John, 40.
3.31
WOMEN OF COLONIAL and
REVOLUTIONARY TIMES
XDER this o-eneral title Messrs.
Charles Scribiier's Sons are pub-
lishing a scries of volumes (three
of which are now ready), the aim
of whicli is not only to present
carefully studied portraits of the
most distinguished women of Colo-
nial and Revolutionary times, but to
^ offer as a background for these por-
traits pictures of the domestic and social, in-
stead of the political and other public, life of
the people in successive periods of national
development.
The project thus includes a series of closely
connected narratives, vivid in color and of
the highest social and historical value, of the
manners and customs, the ways of life, and
the modes of thought of the people of the
Puritan, Knickerbocker, and Cavalier sec-
tions of the country from the days of the
earliest colonists down to the middle of the
present century. In the painting of these
scenes use has been freely made of documents
usually ignored as trivial by the historians or
the biographer, — old letters, wills, inventories,
bills, etc., from which have been gleaned many
curious and interesting details of the daily
life of the women of Colonial and Revolu-
tionary days. Diaries, memoirs and autobi-
ographies also, — in fact, all sources have been
drawn upon for material to add to the truth-
fulness and attractiveness of the picture.
Now Ready
MARGARET WINTHROP (wife of Gov-
ernor John Winthrop, of Massaclmsetts). By
Alice Morse Earle. With Facsimile Repro-
duction. 12mo, gilt top, rough edges, flat
back, $1.25.
N. Y. Sun : " It is to be hoped that the whole
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Earle has condensed the outcome of an immense
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Now Ready
DOLLY MADLSON (wife of James Madison).
By Maud Wilder Goodwin, author of " The
Colonial Cavalier," and " The Head of a
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Chapter Headings
T-Chi1.ihoo(l VITT-War Clondg
ir- A Quaker Girlhood IX-Tlje Burning of Wasbing-
ITI— Friend John Todd ton
IV—" The Great Little Madi- X— Peace
son " X! — Life at IVrontpellier
V— Tlie New Capital XI I— Virginia Hospitalitv
VI— Wife of the Secretary of XIII— Last Days at INIontpellier
State XIV— Waehington Once More
Yll-In the White House XV— Old Age and Death
No\v Ready
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Pinckney, of South Carolina). By Harriott
Horry Raven kl, Great-great-granddaugliter
of Mrs. Pinckney. With Facsimile Repro-
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Mrs. Ravenel's book gives an extraordinarily
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picting in great detail and with an indescrib-
able charm the manners, customs, and mode
of life of her day, and thus having a decided
historical as well as an intimate personal
interest.
Chapter Headings
I— First Years in Carolina IX— Death of Chief Justice
II— MaTit\er8 and Cnstoni^ Pinckney
II 1— A Country Neighborhood X— Tlie Indian Wars
IV -Marriage XI— Letters to English Friends
V— The Pinckney Family XII— Domestic and Social De-
VI— Early Married Life tails
VII-Motherhood XIII— Beginning of the Kevolu-
VIIL— Visit to England tion
Etc., etc.
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» MERCY OTIS WARREN (sister of James
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land Romance," and " Meadow-Grass : Tales
of New Enghmd Life." With Portrait.
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